Do Superheroes Exist?
by Golden Lunar Eclipse
Summary: COMPLETE. The media had a field day when half-ghost, Danny Fenton, was revealed. The government steps in, stripping his family of their ghostly possessions and dignity, and torturing Danny. Now it’s Danny’s moment of truth, and there's no turning back...
1. Headline News

GLE - hi all you lovely people! I am still computerless, as I have been for the past month, but my roommate has generously let me use hers to get this chapter to you. Furthermore, I must credit her with help in writing this chapter (especially the accents, since she is a linguistics major) and with help fleshing out the small details I struggled with that are important to the plot. She has an account on here under name Esme Kali Phantom (you should check her out, her stuff is genius, insane, and hilarious).

This is an idea I've had for a while now, and because of the upcoming episode possibly negating this idea, I'd like to get it out to you. I hope you enjoy it in all its complexity. Oh, and as usual, I don't actually _own_ Danny Phantom; I just like to borrow the characters once in a while.

-(-)-

Do Superheroes Exist?

Headline News

"G'day maites! I'm heah in Amity Pahrk, a small citey in the USA wheah just yestadai a phenomenon was revealed that threatens to chainge the wai we view the world forevah." The Australian reporter flashed a smile into the camera, proud to be announcing such a juicy story. "For the pahst ten months this citey has been plagued with ghost attacks."

"Ye-es, ghost attacks!" said an excited Asian. He was standing among reporters and news crews from around the world in the main park in the city. Everyone talking into microphones hurried to get the news out to their respective countries. "Ova dese mont de city has bos been protected and destroyed by ghost who take folm of teenage boy. Ahnd now we know where he come from. Here is footage of yesterday's attack."

"It turns out zat ze ghost known as Danny Phantom is also one of ze local high school students, Danny Fenton," confirmed a blond woman. She had a proud stance and fixed gaze on the camera. "He is ze son of world-renowned ghost hunters Jack and Maddie Fenton. How he became half-ghost is still a mystery, but we will be getting to ze bottom of it soon. Here is what his family had to say."

In front of FentonWorks stood Maddie, Jack, and Jazz, all visibly shaken by the event and current crowd of people outside their home. None were smiling, and the usually outgoing Jack was the furthest from the light, hovering on the threshold of the front door.

"We just found out yesterday," Maddie said in response to a question. "Our research doesn't indicate that such a thing is possible. We will have to review it."

She had said more than that, but as news crews always do, they cut much of it down to a couple of lines for their audiences to chew on.

"My brother's a good kid," Jazz argued, wanting to convince the world of it and to convey her sentiments. "He's always trying to save people without taking credit for it."

After this, the news clips editors were kind enough to include one final statement from Maddie, "We love our son."

"Mr. Fenton declaned comment," stated a reporter from the BBC. "So-u who is Danny Fenton? We go-u to the local hai school to find aut."

_Ghost World! Danny Fenton is the ghost boy?_ That was Mr. Lancer's initial response to the discovery. _A student in my class is Danny Phantom?_ Upon further reflection he began to understand a lot of the actions that young Mr. Fenton had been unable to explain over the year. And now he was faced with an onslaught of questions by the British interviewer.

"Here is vice-principal William Lahncer. Mr. Lahncer, could you tell us aba-ut Daniel Fenton?"

The balding teacher shifted his weight and cleared his throat, preparing to give as accurate of a description as he could. "Well, he's not the smartest boy. He's shy and clumsy and he's often getting into trouble for being late or missing class, but I suppose that makes sense now. I wouldn't have ever suspected his connection to Phantom."

"And what do you think of Danny Phantom?" the reporter pressed.

"They're quite similar now that I think about it," Lancer answered honestly, realizing it as he spoke. "Phantom's always destroying things, but he seems to have a good heart."

A man with a maple leaf tie spoke into his CBC labelled microphone, "We followed up that interview with questions directed towards Danny's classmates."

"Danny let himself get shoved into lockers, and he has ghost powers?" said Mikey, an expression of awe on his face. The nerd held his hands in the air to emphasize his surprise.

"I don't really care about ghosts," replied Star. "They like tend to like attack wherever I am. Fenton is one of the school losers and if he is Danny Phantom that still doesn't make much of a difference to me."

"Also adding to the disorder, there are a number of crimes on Danny Phantom's head," continued the Canadian. "Will Danny Fenton now take the blame? The list of crimes includes bank and museum robberies, the Christmas Incident, and the kidnapping of the city mayor, most of which have been caught on video."

A CNN reporter appeared on the screen with microphone extended. "Mr. Mayor, tell us about your kidnapping."

Amity Park's mayor stood awkwardly on the steps to City Hall. "It's sort of a blur, really," he began, attempting to remember everyting that had occurred. "I think the ghost was possessing me. I do know that afterwards it was clear that Danny Phantom had been the mastermind behind the assault. Now that we know who he is, we can punish him accordingly."

"And punish him they will, as soon as he is found," announced the CNN reporter dramatically. "Since late yesterday afternoon the boy has been missing. Even his parents are unaware of his location. We conducted a survey of the general public."

A guy in his early twenties, wearing baggy pants, tight t-shirt, a tattoo on his left forearm, and spiked purple hair, burst out, "He's a freak!"

"Poor child," said a plump woman with a bag of groceries in her arms. "His parents must have been neglectful for him to have turned out this way."

"I think he's highly qualified as a ghost hunter," speculated a man in a suit and tie, coming out of an office building. "He has access to all of his parents' gear and he has the powers to match ghosts."

"I don't want him coming anywhere near my children," exclaimed an outraged male in his mid-forties.

A guy behind the counter of a comic book shop said reverently, "He's a real-life superhero!"

"And there you have it, folks!" A blond man with a microphone graced the local tv screens. "This is Lance Thunder, Action News. Tiffany?"

"So as we wait for the ghost boy to be found, we can only ask what he's thinking," picked up the redhead on cue. She sat at her desk in the central news room of Amity Park's tv station. "Town saviour or villain? I guess it's good for us to wonder, do superheroes exist?"


	2. Aftermath

GLE - welcome to chapter 2! This is one of the longest things I have written (especially coming from the fact that I typically write one-shots and poems, and my average number of words per entry is around 1100). This chapter, minus the author's notes, is over 4200 words! Anyways, there's much to come, so I won't delay you any further! Enjoy!

-(-)-

Do Superheroes Exist?

Aftermath

Groaning as he stirred from the daylight forcing its way into his dreams, Danny awoke. He pushed up against the hard mattress beneath him and assumed a sitting position. Where was he? His eyes snapped to attention, leaving behind all blurriness from sleep, as they locked onto the source of the sound he just heard. His eyes met blue and he relaxed. Oh. Right. He knew where he was and he reluctantly began to remember (again) what had happened.

_'Gotta get him into the Fenton Thermos,' thought Danny as he grappled with the ghoul. But said thermos had been knocked away and had rolled underneath the nearby bush._

_A sea of faces stared at him from below as he fired another blast at his opponent. A glint of light briefly caught his eye, but he was too preoccupied to pay it any mind._

_He was lying in his bed in his room and could hear the crowd outside his window. They didn't sound very happy. His mom brought him some food and water and wore a concerned look. Danny couldn't meet her eyes. He pretended he was still injured, though most of the wounds had healed in the mere two hours that had passed._

_Danny's ghost sense went off and he bolted upright.  
__"Sh! Danny, it's ok. It's just me. I'm gonna get you out of here..."_

"You want some breakfast?"

"No. I'm not hungry," Danny answered quietly.

His hostess shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said as she picked a donut out from the box she was carrying. "They're pretty good, though, if you do get hungry."

"Thanks," Danny said as he smiled weakly. His gaze wandered to take in his surroundings. Last night it had been too dark to do so, but now he could see that he was in a small room. Actually, it was a small house, a shack really. It had a bed, a chair and table, and a cabinet (which he had been told at some point before he fell asleep the previous night, contained dry foods on one shelf, and clothes and other essentials on another). There was a tiny bathroom in one corner that finished the two room home. Not many people were aware that this place existed, since it was on the outskirts of a Wisconsin town, and most of those who did know about it were too afraid to come near for the rumors and sightings of paranormal activity.

_"What can I say, Danny?" said Danielle Phantom as the two ghost kids flew. "I guess there's just something about Wisconsin that's calling me. And besides, having Dad nearby is a way of life for me," she laughed._

So, this is where she's been. Danny had been caught up on a lot of the key points to Dani's world of the past couple months as she helped him make his escape the previous day. She seemed to be doing quite well for a solo twelve year old with ghost powers.

_"I mostly steal food from Dad, but he doesn't know it's me, since he has a cook making all his meals for him, and they wouldn't want to upset _Vlad_ with such news. There was a close call when I ran into the Dairy King Ghost, but he smiled and waved cheerily, happy to let me get on with it, and never said a word to my father. I don't think they get along, those two."_

_Danny smirked, picturing the Dairy King, and reminiscing to a time when the ghost had helped him out at Vlad's._

_"I don't go to school. I know kids our age are _supposed_ to. I know I probably should. And after goofing off for a couple of weeks, I decided to try and learn stuff. But people would ask too many questions if I didn't give them my parents' contact info, or home address. So, I go to the public library instead. Sometimes I float in on one of my friends' classes to see what they're being taught. Oh ya, I have a couple of friends. I met them in the park after school one day and we played together. They think I'm home-schooled. We hang out in the park or arcade in town and stuff," Danielle started to giggle. "We've gone to see movies a few times too, and I pay with Dad's money. Really, he won't notice a twenty missing from his billions."_

_As they traveled to their destination, they took frequent breaks. Dani's condition required such measures every time she came close to over-exerting herself. Disintigrating into a pile of goo was not on her "what I want to do with my life" list._

_"I was headed to Dad's kitchen to snitch some food again when I heard. He doesn't have ghost sense, so he didn't know I was there. Skulker told him about the news in Amity Park and they left the room."_

_"How did Vlad react to it?" Danny interrupted._

_"I dunno. I didn't notice because of my surprise. I knew you needed help, and I decided to come and give it to you. I snuck past Dad and Skulker in the library to use the portal in the lab. When I was going through the Ghost Zone, I guessed that you might not be safe at your place, and that's when I thought we could go to mine! I waited until after midnight to come and get you, figuring the coast would be clear. I didn't think that going back through the Ghost Zone would be a good idea because we wouldn't know what to expect on the other end. That's why we're going the long way."_

_Danny nodded to show his understanding, and smiled gratefully to show his appreciation. When he had been woken up, all Dani had replied to his question was "My place". They had flown out of his home and into the clear night air. Danny hesitated a glance backwards, catching sight of Jazz's window, dark and silent like the rest of the house. Dani was right, he couldn't stay there, as much as he wanted to. _"They"_ would be coming tomorrow. The press, the government, random _concerned _Amity Park citizens, you name it. The two ghost kids flew a little distance out of the city, then took their first break, finding a nice tree to sleep under until dawn, and then taking to the sky again to make the longer journey to Wisconsin. The trip took the majority of the following day, with some pitstops for food, water, and rest. They arrived in the evening and Danny, tired from the trip and exhausted from the emotional stress, collapsed on the bed._

"You know," said Danny as he stood up and stretched. "I think I will have some breakfast. Pass me a donut, would you?"

* * *

In the kitchen of the Fenton's home, the tension was already up to red alert, even though the day was just beginning. The invasion of reporters from the previous day left lingering headaches in each of the family members, and no one wanted to know what was next to come. They hadn't been given the time to reflect on everything, with questions being asked left, right, and center, each member being shunted around from camera to camera, microphone to microphone. It was only in the deepest folds of velvet night that they could take refuge within themselves, lying in the comfort of a warm bed. But even this did not bring them peace of mind. Neither Jack nor Maddie could get any rest as a movie reel played over and over again in their heads, drowning out all other thoughts. Superimposed images of son upon ghost upon son upon ghost... repeated relentlessly till all of it was an indistinguishable meld of form and colour. As if in a desperate struggle, one final thought became clear before the inevitable restless sleep overtook them; they wanted their boy home safe and sound, in a place where no one could hurt them, and they could share their love for him.

The doorbell rang, nearly snapping the overstretched nerves of Jack. He glanced in its direction and opted to remain where he was. It rang again with urgency and Jazz stood up. Her father gave her an expression of one who'd just been betrayed, but Jazz reassured him that she'd take care of whatever it was. She just didn't find the sound of doorbells to have much musical appeal this early in the morning.

"Quick! Let me in!" Sam begged when Jazz opened the door.

"Sam?" asked Jazz as if she couldn't believe who she was seeing. She hadn't talked to the girl since before the incident.

"NOW!" yelled Sam pushing past Jazz with Tucker hot on her heals. They closed the door in a hurry, then slumped against the wall, finally relieved.

"O-kay... what's this about?" Jazz asked once Danny's two best friends had caught their breaths.

"Had to get away, even if it's only for a little bit and I'll be in trouble later," said Sam in a rush.

Jazz donned a confused look and Tucker translated, "Her parents have been on her case since they learned that their daughter's best friend is the ghost kid. She's sorta been put under house arrest."

"Or at least I will be when I return. They're making me take time off of school so 'I won't get caught up with the boy'. Honestly I think it's just so they can keep an eye on me and force me into those ridiculous dresses!"

"My parents are also letting me take time off of school," continued Tucker before Sam could resume her rant. "They say they're disappointed in me for hanging around with Danny when it could be dangerous. I don't think they trust your family much anymore."

"They've been interrogating me like I'm some criminal for being friends with your brother!" Sam griped once again. "But anyways, that's not the point," she stated waving it aside and calming down from her outburst of pent-up frustration. "We wanted to know if you knew how Danny was doing."

Sam looked Jazz in the eye with concern and worry. The older girl tried to meet the gaze, but settled on a slow head shake and frown.

"No, I have no idea where he is. Mom put him to bed the night before last, and he was gone by morning. We spent the entire day yesterday being flooded by news crews, so I'm glad in a way that he wasn't around. I know he's strong enough to take care of himself, but I'm really worried about him too. I hope he's ok, wherever he is." Jazz offered what little comfort she could to the other two, then added as an afterthought, "I don't think we'll be seeing him for a while. He must know that those closest to him will be under the highest scrutiny. It _is_ aggravating to not know if he's alright or whether he's coping."

"Sam? Tucker? Headed to school?" Maddie had wandered from the kitchen to the front hall to inform her daughter that breakfast was ready and to find out what was taking her so long.

"No, Mrs. Fenton," answered Tucker. "We were just wondering about Danny. But you guys are wondering, too, so I guess we came for nothing."

"Nonesense," said Maddie in a gentle, though somewhat strained voice. "Why don't you two stay for breakfast? I made plenty of pancakes. We wanted to try to start the day on a positive note..."

Sam and Tucker thanked her and followed her back to the kitchen along with Jazz. Jack was already sitting at the table, a plate piled with pancakes in front of him, untouched. Jazz quickly set the table for two more people and took her seat. Maddie served breakfast to the three teens, then to herself before joining everyone. A silent moment was passed between the three Fentons and the two guests. They connected in understanding that all were present for Danny. If Danny could hear their thoughts, they wanted him to know they were with him. Tucker dug into his meal as Jazz picked up her utensils. Then Jack hit the table somewhat loudly and spoke his first words of the day; "It's all my fault!"

The large man pushed his chair back and covered his face with his hands. He was shaking his head and muttering, "my fault, my fault", his voice coming dangerously close to cracking.

"Now, Jack, don't go blaming yourself," reassurred his wife. "We all had a part to play in it. Danny could have told us sooner. We could have been less harsh towards ghosts and not scared him away... opened our mind to the possibility that half-ghosts exist..."

"We could have been there, Tucker and me," Sam agreed. "Maybe we could have prevented it from happening."

"Don't be silly. You two had detention with Lancer," argued Jazz. "But I could have been there instead of doing the rough draft for my term paper. I didn't even notice you guys leave," she said, indicating her parents. "And my essay's not even due for another two weeks!"

Maddie held up a hand to call for quiet. She stood and walked over to her husband to squeeze his shoulder. "Blaming ourselves isn't getting us anywhere. What we really should be concerned with is whether the rest of the world will accept him or not."

She let the others contemplate the matter as she herself fell into deep thought. Right after she had tucked Danny in for the night the last time she saw him, Jazz had confided in her and Jack the truth of Danny's powers - how it had happened, how long she'd known, Danny's determination to save the city from the constant ghost attacks, and his struggle to keep his identity a secret from everyone for fear of being misjudged and ostracized. "Oh Danny, if only I could tell you that your ghost powers don't change the fact that I love you..."

No one spoke again as they ate. Jack had sullenly lifted his head at his wife's touch and allowed himself his meal. Halfway through the pancakes, however, the Fenton household was interrupted once more by the doorbell. This time Maddie went to answer it as Sam and Tucker shifted fearful gazes at one another.

Maddie opened the door to greet two gentlemen in suits. "Yes?"

"Good day, Ma'am. I'm Agent Miller and this is Agent Collins, of the FBI," one of the men stated promptly. "May we come in?" and without waiting they entered the house.

The rest of the party poured into the front hall, and upon spotting the two agents, Sam and Tucker hurried to make their exit.

"Thanks for the pancakes, Mrs. Fenton," said Tucker.

"See you later sometime, Jazz," said Sam, and she and Danny's other best friend quickly fled.

"What is this about?" asked Maddie after the two kids had left.

"I think you know what it's about," declared Collins, but he received a look of warning from his partner.

"We're here to investigate the disappearance of your son," clarified Miller in a condescending voice. "As you know, the state that he's in could put him in danger of getting hurt, either from others or from himself."

Maddie kept her face neutral as she led the men to the couch. Jack and Jazz followed silently, feeling the headaches begin to return, and finding that each step they took closer to sitting down seemed to be adding extra weight to their feet.

* * *

Full from the donuts, Danny and Dani sat slouched on the bed, staring at the table. Danielle was hesitant to say anything, knowing that her "cousin" needed time to think. She couldn't imagine what he was going through. If it was _her_ to have had her powers revealed, that was one thing - she didn't have nearly the same amount of connections to people that Danny did (she was, in a way, non-existent to most of the world). She supposed, though, that if it were further revealed that she was a clone, and female at that, then perhaps something similar to what Danny was going through would happen to her. And Danny's situation was even more complicated because he was famous (at least in Amity Park) as Phantom, the ghost kid that fought ghosts and the ghost kid that some thought untrustworthy. Dani didn't use her ghosts powers to save people (with a few exceptions, of course). For one, ghosts preferred to attack in Amity Park because it was convenient; it was the first place they arrived in the real world when they came out of the Fenton Portal. Vlad's Portal was less known, and less used by other ghosts (no one's really jumping at the chance to get on Vlad's bad side). And two, Dani had a bit of a handicap with her powers, never being able to exert them for long periods of time or with great amounts of energy. So the superhero thing wasn't exactly something she had to work with.

Danny was zoned out. His eyes remained unfocused as thoughts rushed around inside his head. There was a slight level of heightened panic lurking ever near, but as he was in a safe spot, sure not to be discovered for the moment, it was under control. What would he do? What _could _he do? Going back to face the hostility that awaited him in Amity Park was not an option he wanted to even consider. But this also meant that he couldn't turn to his family or friends. He did have Dani to rely on, and for that, he was grateful. Danny sighed and closed his eyes. This had to be the worst experience of his life. It was more painful than fighting Pariah Dark and more emotionally draining than the glimpse he had of a devastating future that he prevented (taking into account that he didn't completely experience the future himself). And from where he sat, it looked like it would only get worse.

"Hey," Dani whispered eventually. Then in a louder and more encouraging voice, "You know what I think you need?"

Danny's startled blue eyes opened to see a smirk playing about her lips.

* * *

"Yes," Jazz replied tensely. "I've known for months."

After bombarding her parents with questions, the FBI agents were now grilling her on what she knew about her brother. She'd already downplayed a couple of things, such as how powerful Danny was, how intimately he knew the ghosts and the Ghost Zone, and that he wasn't the only halfa. She was able to answer honestly that she had no idea of where he'd gone. She wasn't planning on mentioning that if he were around and he was invisible, her parents had several inventions that could detect his presence (especially since most of their inventions had an affinity with his ectosignature). She tried to keep her answers short and minimal in information. At the same time, she aimed to appear cooperative and informative. She had to tell them about the accident (it seemed they were almost intent on blaming her parents for creating him as some sort of weapon or for some experimental purpose... how wrong a misconception, Jazz reflected, that was _Vlad_, not Jack and Maddie Fenton). She left out the fact that Sam and Tucker had been there, opting to say that Danny had been interested in seeing the portal on his own.

"And why didn't you tell anyone?" Miller continued with his interrogation. "At the very least, your parents?"

"It was his secret, not mine," said Jazz defensively.

"Ok," said Miller. "Well I guess that about wraps it up."

"We have just one more request," announced Collins. "It is unfortunately necessary for us to collect any ghost-related items you have in this house. This includes all your ghost hunting equipment and inventions. And the, uh, Ghost Zone Portal is to be taped off limits, effective immediately. We have warrants for these claims, of course, right here if you must see them."

"So, if you'd be so kind to provide us with these items, we'd grately appreciate it," remarked Miller. "Oh, excuse me," he appologized when his cell rang. He exited the room to answer.

Collins stood, anticipating the concurrence of the Fenton family with his demands. The three of them left the room with vague expressions, and returned frequently, carrying mostly weapons of various shapes and sizes. Once they'd completed the task, Collins let out a low whistle to the arsenal of Fenton products piled in the middle of the floor. Well, it would certainly be keeping the Guys in White busy, he thought.

"There's been a slight change in plans," declared Miller upon re-entering the room. "Due to a number of citizens expressing their concerns, young Miss Fenton will have to be relocated temporarily. The matter of unease is in regards to neglectful parenting and the FBI agrees that it is in the child's best interest to move her to a safe and devoted family."

"I'm not a child! I can take care of myself!" Jazz burst in outrage. And the nerve of them implying that her parents weren't devoted!

"Jazz!" her mother warned.

"According to the law, Miss, you are still considered a child," stated Miller. "A social worker will be arriving shortly to help you move."

* * *

"Da na na na na na! Da da dee daa!"

The two halfa teens were floating near the ceiling of Dani's place, singing along to the guitar solo of a Dumpty Humpty song. This was part of Dani's plan for a "Day of Fun". They'd been belting out their favourites at the top of their lungs while imitating the band - Danny on "guitar" and Danielle on "drums". The music was being issued from Dani's cd player, which sat on the "essentials" shelf of her cabinet. The girl had thought that goofing around would be a good way to help Danny take his mind off of things and to take a break from his life. Thus far, it seemed to be working.

When the track ended, Dani dropped down to turn her cd player off. Another idea of what they could do next popped into her head and she decided to act upon it.

"Race you into town!" she challenged then flew through the wall, transforming into ghost mode as she did so. "Bet you can't beat me to the park!"

"Bet you I can!" shouted Danny after her as he picked up the chase. The wind blowing through his hair, the exhilaration of flying and of the race, all of it _was_ helping him to forget his troubles and to just enjoy himself for the moment. He caught up to Dani and overtook her, just making it to the park before she did. They landed beside a bench to catch their breaths. Not completely forgetting himself, Danny turned invisible, but asked in good spirit, "So, what's next?"

"Wanna know what I do for fun when there's no one around to play with?"

Next thing Danny knew, he and Danielle were "possessing" the arcade. Like the time Danny had fought Technus within the online game, _Doomed_, he and Dani were now playing the arcade games from the inside, with their ghost powers as cheat codes. Dani laughed as she told Danny about the manager of the place. She had all the high scores (under name: GhostGal), yet he had never seen her play, and didn't understand how all the games appeared to have the same glitch. Danny smiled at that as he passed her in a car racing game. In the end, Dani had the most wins due to her higher level of experience.

They left the arcade and wandered over to the mall, moving along invisibly. They decided to take in a movie at the mall's cinema, and let themselves become human and visible again once in the sanctuary of darkness of the room. After this, Dani bought them an ice cream cone each, and they flew lazily above the street enjoying the treat as Phantoms. But something caught Danny's eye and he descended, touching down on the ground outside an electronics shop, and letting go of his powers to become Fenton again. Inside the window, a tv on display was broadcasting a news report. His face now covered the screen, and was followed by the image of an angry looking crowd of people (with caption "Amity Park citizens"). Danielle hovered above the boy, unsure of what to do or say. He dropped his ice cream cone and gained a far-off look mingled with deep sadness and confusion. _Was that what they really thought of him? After all he'd done for them? Was everyone ready to jump the gun and condemn him now?_ Danny couldn't shake these thoughts and was so wrapped up in them he didn't notice when a guy walking past him suddenly reached out to grab his arm.

"Hey! Aren't you that kid? The ghost boy?" the guy asked.

Danny phased through his grip on instinct and backed away.

"What the...?" the guy uttered, but Danny turned invisible just as their eyes met. The guy lunged at him to catch him once more, but all he caught was thin air.

* * *

-(-)-

GLE - I don't usually add author's notes to the end of a chapter, but I think it's necessary that I do today. I am thrilled by the response to this fic so far and I love you guys! But I need to warn you now that my life is becoming busier as we speak and the likeliness of the next chapter coming up before June 9th is slim. That said, I have an outline for this story and I will try to stick to it no matter what occurs in the next new episode. You will be finding out exactly how Danny's powers were revealed (the way I see it) in a later chapter. Oh, I also want to post the second chapter to my fic, _Living a Nightmare_, which requires me to spend time writing it, and I want to post the first chapter to _Phantomonium_ as well, which also requires writing time. So, ya. That's it for now! Please tell me what you think, thanks!


	3. Inner Conflict

GLE - hi all! Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Life's been pretty busy with competitions and some major changes occurring that I'm trying to keep up with, not to mention my failing attempts at _not_ being sleep-deprived. I also somewhat had writer's block half way along in this chapter, but now I've worked through it and it's done! I'm very pleased with the result! I hope you all enjoyed RT. I know I did! And the best part is, most of the stuff I have planned for this fic works with what happened in RT! I guess the only thing I got wrong (which you'll see later) was some people's reactions, but it's not that big of a deal. I'm particularly excited about the Guys in White, who will be showing up in a few chapters.

In terms of reviews, you guys are amazing! Thanks very much to everyone who's reviewed/faved/alerted etc this story! I'm sorry I didn't get around to replying to any reviews this last chapter (eh, I tend to procrastinate on that sort of thing and it usually ends up not getting done...).

Anyways, something else I wanted to mention, since my roommie, Esme, has told me a few times about it, I know this idea is being done by many people. I mean, the "Danny's secret revealed" plotline (and also in the latest ep, no less). I just wanted to say that I haven't really been reading anything for a few months (with the exception of one shots, Esme's stories, and stuff that's been on my alert forever -cough-BlueOceans-cough- (that's a HA! fic).), so in terms of what's going on in the fanfiction world, I'm more or less clueless. I just know what Esme and Fey tell me. That said, I hope that this stuff is original enough for your appreciation.

And now on with the show!

-(-)-

Do Superheroes Exist?

Inner Conflict

_The Nasty Burger was humming when the African-American girl arrived shortly after school let out. She quickly slipped into the back room to put on her uniform and put away her backpack. She checked in with her boss as she headed to her register -- she was on cashier duty today. Flipping around the sign overhead from "closed" to "open", she smiled in greeting at her first customer._

_"May I take your order?" said Valerie._

_"Ah yes. I'd like a Nasty Burger combo, please, with onion rings instead of fries," said a round balding man in his forties._

_"Will that be all, Sir?" Valerie asked politely._

_"Yes, thanks," replied the man._

_"That'll be $4.79," announced Val as she rung it up. _

_The man handed over a bill, Valerie returned his change, and she gathered his meal quickly before serving her next customer. She continued this routine smoothly for the following couple of hours, after which point, the gossip that was reaching her ears from the line became interesting. _Very _interesting._

"_Yes, the Ghost Kid," said a woman with glasses to her friend._

"_You don't say?" her friend commented in awe._

"_I wouldn't have believed it, but I saw it with my very own eyes!"_

"_Just now?"_

"_Yes, right before we met!"_

_The two women abruptly stopped talking as they approached the counter. Valerie tried to hide her curiosity with a warm, friendly smile as she took their orders. Something seemed to have happened to Phantom, but she couldn't leave to find out just now -- this job was her income and she didn't want to lose it. Over the next quarter of an hour she caught more snippets of conversation and rumors being spread among the customers._

"_Did you see him transform?"_

"_Who would've thought?"_

"_Awesome fight. Weird outcome."_

"_He's a student at Casper High."_

"_The Ghost Boy is half human!"_

_They always quieted down when they reached her to order. Frustration began to build within her as her desire to understand what was going on grew larger. Could this be true? Could one of her classmates possibly be Danny Phantom? If that was so, she _had_ to find out who it was. Who had she really been chasing all this time? Knowing where to find him would make it easier to confront him, but knowing he was part human... well she couldn't destroy him then, could she? _Woah, slow down girl,_ she mentally checked herself. _You don't even know what really happened yet, don't jump to conclusions. _Even so, confusion and anxiety were now present inside her, and she accidentally let a bit of it seep out in a somewhat harsh tone as she asked a girl, "Would you like to make that a _Nasty_ Meal?"_

_She spent the last fifteen minutes before her break administering great amounts of self-control and demonstrative patience. Everyone followed ettiquette and spoke to her only about food. Then came one strange guy who appeared to be in a bad mood. He looked roughly twenty and was carrying a clipboard with the local college's emblem on the back. Before making his order, he complained dejectedly to Valerie, "Some people are _so_ unappreciated."_

_Valerie, eager for information, though not completely trusting that this guy would tell her what she wanted to find out, played along and asked him, "And why's that?"_

"_You're in the middle of creating a work of art, and they turn on you!" he expressed._

"_Mmhmm," mumbled Val. _Great, I guess I'm in for a sob story now...

"_We were working on our project for film class, and then those ghosts decided to show up..." _

Ok, I'm listening_, thought Valerie as her ears perked up._

"_... and instead of letting them go about their business as we went about ours -- we _had_ a schedule to keep! -- she films the ghost fight _instead_!" he said in outrage. "And to top it off, once Channel 4 News arrived, they gave her an internship on the spot for her _'excellent camera skills'. _Does no one care about the director?"_

_The guy followed his rant up with his order. Luckily for Val, he was her last customer and she hurried off to the back room. She found one of her co-workers, also on break, watching a news report on the tv. At the sound of the word "ghost", she knew this was what she was searching for._

_"The Amity Park News crew has just confirmed moments ago the secret identity of our ghostly citizen," spoke a dark-haired woman from the tube. _

Moments_ ago?" Valerie raised an eyebrow._

_"They like to exaggerate," agreed her co-worker. "Must be at least half an hour by now."_

_Valerie nodded then made a hushing noise, not wanting to miss the story._

_"Who was once thought to be an ordinary boy, is anything but," continued the reporter. "We take you live to the scene with Lance Thunder."_

_"For the last time, I'm a weather... er, thanks Harriet!" said the blond man as the screen cut to his location. "I'm here in Casper Park where today's biggest event occurred. With me is one of the witnesses." And turning the microphone towards another man, Lance asked, "Tell me, Mr. Stevens, what did you see?"_

_The man pushed back his shoulders and lifted his chin, excited to be getting his moment of fame. "I was on my jog through the park when I stopped for the ghost fight going over head. There was already a crowd of people watching and I joined in. The Ghost Boy, or Phantom, or however you call the kid, started to fall and by the time he hit the ground, he wasn't no ghost no more."_

_"Thank you," said Lance briskly, cutting the guy off. The camera zoomed in on him, leaving Mr. Stevens out of the frame. "And we have footage of this very incident, which we bring you now..."_

_The tv flashed in the scene change and images of a ghost fight lit the screen. Phantom was in the air, struggling by the looks of it. His face was contorted with concentration, but the shallowness of his breaths gave him away. He was about to faint. And then he did. In the blink of an eye as he fell, his white hair turned black, his black suit turned white, and, though no one could see it from the footage, his green eyes became blue. Lance replaced the boy on the tv once more, but Valerie was no longer listening. Her eyes were wide and wild. Her mouth was slack, a hand half way up to greet it. Her heart was beating quickly... too fast... She started to hyperventillate._

_"D-Da... Da-Danny...?" she muttered in disbelief._

_Her co-worker turned to face her and noticed the panic attack. "Val? Are you alright? Hey, Valerie? Do you hear me?"_

_Omigod,omigod,omigod... Danny is Phantom? Danny is the Ghost Boy? Danny? _Danny?

_Valerie's co-worker called out to the on-duty manager._

_"Yes? Oh my, Valerie? What's wrong?"_

_The manager walked over to the girl and put a hand to her forehead._

_"We were watching the news and then... this," supplied the other._

_"He's in my class..." came the only coherent thing Val could utter._

_"Ok, we're sending you home," said her manager. "Can't work in your state, and it might do you some good to recover from the shock, rather than forcing you to stay. Come on now, time to go. I'll even get you a cab so that you get there fine."_

_The rest of the day passed by in a blur of rushed emotions and thoughts till she just couldn't take it anymore and shut down to succumb to the sleep she needed._

* * *

Valerie was gazing out her window, without really seeing anything. It had been a day and a half since the incident had occurred, and she was a little more calm now, though nowhere near any of the answers she wanted. Danny's disappearance, while understandable given the circumstances, deterred her from getting so much as a "hi" from him. Intruding on her thoughts, her father's voice called for her to come to the living room. Valerie obeyed and got up off her bed without glancing back at the window. She found Damon Gray holding their appartment door open for a small group of people.

"Yes, we were about to set it up just now," said Damon. Turning and spotting his daughter he commented, "Ah, here she is."

Valerie stepped forward to greet her guests. There was a woman in a blue-grey sweater, her hair neatly tied back in a bun. There was a man in a suit carrying a suitcase. And there was Jazz Fenton, Danny's sister. _Right_, remembered Valerie. _She's coming to stay._ Valerie hadn't been completely paying attention earlier that morning when they received a phone call. Her dad had asked her about Jazz and then told the person on the other end of the line that they'd love to.

Jazz was fidgetting uncomfortably now, not wanting to impose herself upon the Grays, but having no choice otherwise. She _had_ wanted to stay with Sam and her family (the social worker told her to stay at a girlfriend's house), but the Mansons wanted nothing to do with the Fentons and had hung up on her rather rudely. So, to avoid being put in foster care, Jazz called Valerie's dad. She knew that Danny, in his human form, got along well with the girl, even if as ghost he did not. And she also wanted to be close to a ghost hunter, because she thought her chances of talking to Danny before anyone else found him might be better with one. Once introducing herself to Damon over the phone, she had handed the receiver over to Ellen, the social worker who was setting up this arrangement. A few minutes later, everything was set and Jazz had to pack the belongings she felt most necessary. A man from the government (she supposed he was there to try and smooth anything over should the situation call for diplomacy) had helped to carry her stuff. He was now standing behind her looking bored.

"Hi," said Valerie to the three people in her entrance, her eyes lingering on Jazz.

"Hi," acknowledged Ellen. Then facing Damon once again, she continued, "Well, then that only leaves one more thing to do. For all the legal stuff, I need you to sign some papers, please."

Damon glanced at the clipboard the woman was holding and smiled, "No problem."

He led her to the couch and they sat down beginning to work out the details. The man in the suit brought Jazz's stuff just inside the door, dropped it, nodded to Ellen, and left. Jazz stood awkwardly on the threshold to the room, rocking slightly on her feet as if trying to decide whether to take a step forwards or not. Val smiled and took Jazz's arm, leading her inside. "Come on, we can set up your sleeping area."

* * *

Sam was drumming her fingers on her desk, staring at a poster on her wall. "Ok, that's it," she sighed, "I'm officially out of ideas for this afternoon." She leaned back in her chair. "Guess I'll just have to wait for the night. Darkness _is_ my ally, after all." Still, there was nothing else to do, so she stood and paced around her room for the fifth time, trying to plot a new strategy.

When she had attempted to sneak back into her house that morning, her parents were one step ahead of her. She was caught like a deer in a headlight. She convinced them that she'd only seen Tucker (_"I don't know where Danny is - no one does - so it'd be pretty pointless for me to go looking for him, especially since he's probably invisible right now!"_), but they still grounded her. _No_, Sam thought, _they didn't _ground_ me - they locked me in a room and threw away the key!_ She knew she was exaggerating, since technically they still had the key, but confiscating all her forms of communication with the outside world was outrageous! They took away her cell phone and laptop, and her radio and tv ("_we don't want you worrying over the news, so it's best we take these for now, too"_). They wouldn't let her leave. She'd finished her homework for the week in one hour, to say the least of how bored she was. It wasn't bad enough that she couldn't talk to either of her friends, but she had _nothing_ to do. Well, nothing that her parents approved of her doing. Which meant that her scheming had been turned on full blast. Her first three escape attempts may have been a bust, but she thought this fourth one just might do the trick. However, it would have to wait till the dead hours of night.

For escape number one, she tried to leave the usual way, via her bedroom window. She made it as far as the ground before turning around to run directly into her family's gardener.

_"Miss Manson,"_ _he said. "And just where do you think you're going?"_

_"Um... out?"_ _Sam tried in a pleading voice. But seeing the look in his eye, she knew he was in full cooperation with her parents, and a few moments later they were standing over her, displeased. Pointing a finger to the front door, they ordered her back into the house and to her room._

Escape attempt number two, while untraditional for her, was still anticipated by her parents.

_Sam slowly opened her bedroom door an inch, peaking into the hallway. Coast clear? She thought so and ventured out a bit, making as little noise as possible._

_"Miss Manson, I'm afraid you're not allowed to leave your room." It was the maid._

_Sam gritted her teeth and tried to force her lips into a smile. "I'm not going anywhere," she said. "Just to the bathroom. I can't hold it much longer!"_

_The maid appologized as Sam rushed towards the washroom, thankful that this excuse may have saved her and may have created the golden way out! She locked the door with satisfaction - she was the one in control now. And instead of sitting down on the toilet, she used it to step up to the window, tying a couple of bath towels together to use as rope for her escape._

_This time she made it to the sidewalk before the chauffeur caught her and brought her back inside._

Attempt number three was a disaster, alright. With the window and the door out of the way, she decided to try the ventillation system, like they do in the movies.

_Sam used a metal rular as a screw driver, and unscrewed the bolts on the vent near the head of her bed. She pried it off the wall and looked in. It was a dark and dusty passage. In a second thought, she ripped the pillow case off of her pillow and tied it around her face, covering her nose and mouth so to provide a mask to breathe through. Then, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she plunged inside the small space, slipping downwards nearly immediately. She reached the ground floor and started to crawl along, not exactly sure where in the house she was. Her skirt got caught on an uneven edge, and she let out a muffled sound of surprise when it pulled back on her. A light shone in from the vent next to her and the cook's face appeared at the grate. She wanted to hurry it up and keep moving, but her skirt was still stuck, and in no time, her parents were there, the vent cover taken down, and the cook yanking her out. Her parents were livid and lectured Sam for an hour before sending her back to her jail. Sam knew better than to try that route again, but she had other plans._

"If all goes well, later tonight I'll have my freedom..." Sam thought. Then her mind floated to the topic that had been lurking near the surface for the past couple of days; how was Danny? Where was he? Was he getting along ok? Had someone found him and caught him? Hurt him? Was he floating somewhere nearby, invisible, unwilling to let himself be seen again? Was he trying to find some way to prove to everyone he was _always_ their hero, that he'd never intentionally done anything bad? Would he be coming to her? This was why she needed to leave the house. She had to _do_ something! She wanted to find Danny or at least find some way to stick up for him, wherever he was.

He probably wouldn't be coming to her, and that was a good thing. She'd been visited around lunch time by the FBI agents who'd shown up at the Fentons that morning. Of course they wanted to question the ghost kid's best friend. With her parents looming over her, Sam was very reluctant at saying _anything_. She didn't want to reveal much about Danny to the creeps and she didn't want to let her parents in on how involved she was with his ghost powers. When Agent Collins asked her about his accident, Sam lied, telling him that Danny had confided in her after the fact. _No_, thought Sam, _it would be better if Danny didn't come here. Those FBI agents probably have the place bugged, and it won't be long till the Guys in White make an appearance_. Still, a part of Sam wished she could see Danny, if only for a moment.

* * *

The house was quiet. Uncomfortably quiet. It felt like an empty void. The laughter of children was missing, and the general bustle of activity that the family usually displayed had evaporated. All within a moment, their lives seemed to come crashing down, spiraling into a chain of bad event after bad event. Their kids were both gone -- one runaway, one forcefully taken -- and their work stolen from them. It wouldn't be long till they were under surveillance as well.

Jack and Maddie Fenton sat on the couch in their empty living room, not having moved much from their positions since the morning. Neither said a word to the other, though speech was not needed. They both felt the despair of their loss as a pang on their hearts. They felt useless. Danny had ghost powers because of their work, and they couldn't protect him now when he needed it most.

Jack clutched a newspaper clipping in his hand and was staring at it sadly. The headline was from some months prior, announcing another of the many appearances of the Ghost Kid. Jack's eyes bore into the picture of the boy he now knew to be he son, but they weren't really focusing anymore on the white hair, black hazmat suit, and frown of concentration Danny was wearing. His mind wasn't really focusing anymore either.

He and Maddie had been there when it happened. They'd witnessed Danny's public transformation first hand. _They were a part of it_. One moment, there was Phantom, fighting that other ghost. And the next... the next his son, Danny, raven hair a mess, blood dripping from his wounds, his small frame falling from the sky...

Jack shook his head and shuddered, trying to hold back the wave of emotions that suddenly overwhelmed him; guilt, sadness, love, the shock of it all, a need to save his son from harm...

If only they hadn't caught it on film the second time. Then, maybe, they wouldn't be hunting Danny right now... witnesses, yes, but no actual proof that he was half ghost... not until they caught it on video when Danny had _completely_ run out of energy...

Jack sighed and then blinked, starltled as his wife stood up.

"I'm going to get some water, maybe make a sandwich..." she said without enthusiasm. "Do you want something, dear?"

Jack shook his head sullenly, returning his gaze to the piece of paper in his hands.

* * *

Danny and his "cousin" were back at her home, outside in a bit of a clearing where Danny had set up a shooting range. His targets were pop cans and glass bottles that came from a public recycling bin he'd randomly swiped on his return. He threw them into the air, then fired perfectly aimed blasts, causing little explosions of metal or showers of shattered glass. He was angry and letting off steam, but the destruction still wasn't satisfying him. _How could they all forget the good stuff he'd done for them? How could they blame him for all their problems when he was out there every day risking his neck to save them? Why'd they look so mad on that tv, those Amity Park citizens? Didn't they realize he was one of them, that he'd always been on their side?_

Danny's momentum began to slow, and he held onto the bottle in his hand longer than he intended. _Where did he really belong?_ The question now plagued him, the burried feelings of exile slowly creeping back into his mind. He let the bottle drop and it rolled away. He wasn't human and he wasn't ghost. He was both and he was neither. He was stuck in limbo, a place in between humanity and the monsters he battled. A part of him was just like them. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he wasn't immune to the obsessive nature of ghosts. His obsession was to get rid of them. _Hypocrite_. And in the human world, he was abnormal, an unnatural freak. He didn't belong anywhere. And all of those efforts he had made to protect the people... none of it seemed to matter now that they knew who he really was. _What was his purpose, then? Why did he fight ghosts on a daily basis? Was it worth it anymore?_

_Who had he become? _

Second-guessing himself began to weigh heavily on his heart and he eventually had to sit down. He found a place on a log and buried his face in his hands. A headache was growing and he didn't want to think anymore.

Dani stood leaning against her house, watching him without knowing what to say or how to say it. When Danny's anger had flared up, she decided it would be best if he dealt with it on his own, in his own way. Firing at those cans was harmless, too. But now he looked really sad and confused, his shoulders hunched and his head hanging. She began to reach out towards him, thinking of giving him a hug...

Simultaneously, cold air escaped the mouths of both kids. Danny, already in Phantom mode, took to the air to see who it was. Danielle transformed and joined him a moment later. Neither were given much time to dodge the flailing tail of the large, black dragon.

"Miss me?" growled the ghost.

"Aragon!" exclaimed Danny. "But, how--?"

"--did I get my amulet back?" the prince interrupted. "Well, that's for me to know," he laughed.

"Fine," said Danny in exasperation. "Look, I'm really not in the mood right now--"

"Having a bad day?" the dragon interjected again. "I know. I heard _all_ about it and had to see for myself! You really do try to fix things that don't want to be fixed."

Danny was puzzled for a moment before questioning, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, you know, my kingdom that _used_ to be in the Dark Ages. Your hometown, that doesn't _want_ your help in driving out ghosts. That sort of thing."

Danny stiffened as the ghost struck a nerve. "Enough talk," he yelled. "Let's get this over with."

"If you insist," replied Aragon then he shot fire at the two halfas in front of him.

Danielle went intangible and Danny blocked it with a shield. Then they flew in opposite directions in attack formation, Danny going in from the right, Dani from the left. The boy attacked first, aiming at the dragon's belly, the girl following up with a shot at the head. Aragon was thrown backwards, but he caught the air in his wings and came to a stop, propelling himself forwards again. He swatted at the two kids, catching them and throwing them to the ground. He flew towards the town, bringing the battle closer to a populated area. The Phantoms pursued him and were caught off-guard by a sudden blast of fire aimed their way. They dodged it and Dani turned invisible. She reappeared above Aragon's head, and Danny tried to create a distraction.

"Think fast!" he yelled at the ghost, shooting directly at him. The dragon swerved to the right, and Dani followed, trying to get her hands on the amulet. Aragon caught a glimpse of her, but continued in the direction he was headed, until he suddenly leashed out at her, hitting her hard across the stomach. Dani fell backwards, letting out a small ectoblast on instinct which hit Aragon square in the forehead and left him blinking water out of his eyes. Danny raced down to catch Danielle before she hit the ground too hard, because she'd lost control. Her limbs were beginning to mist, and when Danny had her safely on the ground, a small puddle of goo was forming below her. Dani changed back into human mode and stood up again.

"I'm sorry, Danny," she said, seeming to beg forgiveness. "I... I can't anymore."

"No, it's ok," Danny reassured her. "I understand."

The Ghost Boy took off again, leaving Dani to watch the fight from the ground. Aragon had recovered from the blast to his head and snarled at the halfa in front of him, smoke coming out of his nostrils. Danny shot a series of ectoblasts at his enemy before turning invisible and diving below him to come up and punch him in the chin. Most of the shots he'd fired had glanced off of Aragon's tough scales without scratching him, and those near the end of the barrage were swallowed up by a trail of flames that escaped Aragon's mouth. The ghost, however, didn't notice the teen's trick and was therefore quite stunned when the punch to his jaw had come and had hurt him. He sailed backwards and crashed into a fence that announced their arrival into the residential area of town.

As the dragon's head was still spinning, a small group of people who had been attracted by the sound joined Dani to see what was going on. They stood below where Danny Phantom was floating.

"Hey!" one of them exclaimed to the others. "It's that weird Fenton kid!"

His friends all took on expressions of excitement, but something in their looks made Danny feel uneasy. The kids were around his age, maybe a year younger, and by the way they were standing, they sort of reminded Danny of a gang.

"Freak!" One of them yelled as another shouted, "Show off!"

Danny was startled by the insults, and began to narrow his eyes, but Aragon's movements caught his attention again, and he blocked out the taunts to focus on his battle.

Aragon flew into the air and drew level with Danny, blowing a stream of fire to Danny's left, obviously missing him, though coming close to grazing his arm. Danny retaliated with a blast of energy that Aragon lazily redirected towards the ground, forcing Danny to race downwards and form a shield to block it from hitting the humans.

"Ghost powers!" the youngest of the kids exclaimed, trying to sound mean, but revealing some feelings of awe as well.

"I see you're busy with your admirers," said Aragon playfully to Danny. "I'll leave you be then. There's more about this world that I'd like to see, and I've had my fun here."

With that, the dragon took off at top speed away from the town, and Danny, distracted now by the gang, didn't chase after him.

"See, I told you guys he was a show off!" said the largest kid. He appeared to be the leader. "Did you see the way he assumed we wanted a _hero_ to save us? And he used the dragon to bounce his own attack towards us just so he could block it!"

"Hey!" said Danny, not liking the kids much or the fact that they were talking as if he couldn't hear them. "I wasn't trying anything like that!"

"Sure, that's what you want us to believe!" said the leader maliciously, with a glint in his eyes. "What other things can you do, freak?"

"Leave him alone!" yelled Dani, stepping between where the kid was standing and where Danny was floating.

"Oh right, sorry, _Phantom_," mocked the leader. "That's what you like to call yourself, right? _Ghost!_"

"Didn't you hear me?" shouted Dani in frustration. "Leave him alone!"

"Stay out of this, pip-squeak!" replied the leader harshly.

"Stop."

That was Danny. He landed next to his friend and spoke to her. "This is about me, not you."

"But they were--"

"I've thought of somewhere for me to go, something that I can do. And I won't be a bother to you or anyone else here anymore."

"But Danny--"

"No, this really is best," he interrupted again, feigning a smile. "Thanks for everything you've done for me. I'll... I'll see you around."

And with that he took to the air once more, turning invisible before heading in the direction of his destination.

The kids that were left behind all stood as statues for a moment, till Dani broke the stillness. The gang gave her a puzzled look as she ran off into the forest, becoming invisible once in the cover of the trees in case they decided to pursue her. She hoped Danny would be alright.


	4. The Devastating Blow

GLE - Greetings everyone! Wow! I'm amazed with the response to this story, you guys are all super-awesome! In fact, I was trying to finish some chapters for other stories, but decided to put them off once again to update this one as soon as possible since you seem to love it so much! I wanted to try and post this on Canada Day, but I didn't quite make it (as you can see), so, well, Happy Belated 139th Canada Day! Thanks again to my roommate, Esme, for editing this chapter and helping me work out some minor plot details. I've been really excited about a scene in this chapter for a while, so now you all finally get to see it! Enjoy!

-(-)-

Do Superheroes Exist?

The Devastating Blow

_Sam and Tucker sat sullenly in Mr. Lancer's classroom after school on Monday, watching as the clock ticked away slowly. Mr. Lancer himself was engrossed in a book, casually leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on his desk. Apart from him, Sam and Tucker, there was no one else in the room. _

_Sam shifted her eyes towards her friend and whispered softly, "How fair is it that we ended up in this because of taking the fall for Danny, _again_, while he gets to go home on time?"_

_"Miss Manson!" warned Mr. Lancer looking up from his book. "Need I remind you that there is no talking, or whispering, in detention?"_

_Sam was startled a moment for being caught, but recovered quickly and shook her head. She held back a sigh and Tucker gave her a sympathetic look. _Can't do anything about it now_, he seemed to say with his eyes. She nodded in understanding and turned her attention to the window. There was nothing else to do but watch the passers-by._

_A group of young adults were walking along the sidewalk outside of Casper High, their voices reaching the room Sam was sitting in. She caught some of their conversation before they moved out of range._

_"I can't believe it took us all morning to do that scene! You'd think you could get that line right _once_!" complained a girl in her early twenties. She was carrying a black bag and a large object. Sam recognized these as film equipment - the camera in the bag, and the large object, a tripod._

_"I did get it right once!" replied a guy wearing a nice shirt and tie. "The seventeenth time!"_

_"That's not what I meant," said the girl._

_"Enough, we've got to get to the park for the next scene if we're going to finish today," interrupted a young man holding a clipboard that was marked with the local college's emblem._

_"Don't get me started with you!" spoke up another girl, carrying a boom mic. "As if we're following your '_schedule'. _You've changed it on us three times already today, when we've had it planned for two weeks. I was sitting on that curb for an hour waiting to do sound and we didn't get any filming done at all until you were finally ready with your _angle

_"Hey! Don't get mad at me! I'm the director and I'm an artist at work!" retorted the guy._

_Sam smirked in amusement as the group disappeared from her view. She rested her head on her hands, continuing to stare outside, waiting for the detention to be over._

_The film students made their way to Casper Park, the main green space in the city. As they were setting up their equipment, a loud roar from the sky and the toasting of a nearby tree caught their attention._

_Danny Phantom was fighting with another ghost and all the people in the vicinity seemed to stop what they were doing to look on. The girl with the camera suddenly took it off of the tripod and brought it with her as she walked towards the small crowd that was forming._

_"Where do you think you're going?" asked the director._

_"To get a better shot of this," she answered._

_"What? But you're supposed to be filming our movie!"_

_She simply waved a hand and ignored him, running closer to the ghosts._

_Danny avoided a blast from the monster's mouth as he fired one of his own. The ghost retaliated by trying to sink its claws into him while following that up with a thrashing of its tail. Danny went intangible to avoid both. He was fighting what appeared to be a green gryphon. Upper body of an eagle, lower body of a lion, sharp talons, claws, and beak, large sweeping wings with feathers that could also act as missiles, and a tail with a spiky point, not to mention the ectoblasts it emitted from its mouth, which seemed to be its favourite power for attack. There'd already been a couple of close calls with the citizens on the street where the fight began and Danny was glad that they'd flown to the park to finish it in the air where those people would be out of harm's way._

Ok, time for the finale,_ Danny thought. He turned invisible, preparing for one last blow to the beast before capturing it in the thermos. _

_But he didn't get the chance._

_Half way from his starting point to where the gryphon was hovering, something happened that neither ghost expected. While still invisible, Danny was shot in the back. _

_"I hit it! I _actually_ hit it!" exclaimed an ecstatic Jack._

_"Yes, dear," praised Maddie._

_They were hiding behind a tree, far enough away that nobody noticed where the shot had come from. They began to move closer to the fight, while staying among the bushes._

_The blast that caught Danny was specially designed to identify and lock onto invisible ghosts and to weaken ghost powers for some amount of time. Sure enough, he immediately reverted into Fenton, suddenly appearing out of thin air and pelting towards the ground. His momentary shock was replaced with panic as he was losing a battle with gravity. With tremendous effort, he forced an ectoshield to form around him and somewhat break his fall. After crashing and blanking out for a moment, plus losing the Fenton Thermos to a nearby bush, Danny's mind turned on again in overdrive._

What just hit me?_ He rolled over onto his back and noticed the circle of hesitant onlookers. _A-all these people... What just happened? _And with a sinking feeling he wondered, _do they know?_ He began to contemplate what could've hit him, searching for the red blur of Valerie or the white swishing cape of Vlad's, though they were nowhere in sight. The gryphon roared and landed, closing in on him. _No time to think!

_"Danny!" cried an astonished Maddie, but her voice was drowned out by another of the monster's roars._

_The boy hopped to his feet, feeling tired and slightly drained, as if he'd been fighting in a much tougher and longer battle than what he had done. He began to run, dodge, roll, duck, and jump to evade the onslaught of attacks from his opponent. The gryphon was trying to catch the boy in its talons, and used its missile feathers to direct Danny's movements, attempting to force him to have no choice but to come closer, or at least to stay within a straight line of fire for when it would eventually use its beak. Every now and then it would also whip its tail at Danny, once grazing Danny's left arm, and another time, his right leg, causing both to bleed. Danny could feel the effects of his father's weapon, but used his successes in avoiding the gryphon to boost his confidence. Even as a human, he could still hold out for a while against a ghost. But the Thermos lay out of reach beneath the bush it rolled to._

_Frustration grew in the lion-bird. Coming to a peak, the ghost let loose a rather powerful ectoblast aimed at Danny. On instinct, Danny used as much strength as he could to fire back and block it, protecting both himself and those standing a little ways behind him. The blasts met and exploded, covering the area with smoke. The dust cleared to reveal Phantom, standing in Fenton's place. He was panting with effort to maintain his form. Taking to the air once more to lure the ghost away from everyone else, Danny resumed the fight. The gryphon followed him, shooting missiles that Danny let phase through him. The two ghosts became locked in a competition of ectoblasts, both firing at the same time, attempting to overcome the other, trying to push their blast closer to their opponent. A glint of light briefly caught Danny's eye, but he was too preoccupied to pay it any mind. It was a reflection of sunlight on the lense of the camera that the college film student was holding, aptly capturing everything Danny did._

_Maddie and Jack Fenton watched on, mouths hanging open in shock, not wanting to fire at the ghost that was defeating their son for fear of hitting him (again) themselves._

_More people were gathering in the crowd below the fight. A jogger joined in behind a woman in glasses near the back of the pack._

_Danny was struggling to hold his blast against the gryphon's, let alone to stay ghost. Giving in and giving up his attack, he turned intangible to allow the monster's blast to go through him. He was concentrating hard, wanting to formulate a plan to win this, though his clouded and muddled mind wasn't helping much. And all too soon, the darkness that had been lurking in the corners of his eyes began to overwhelm him. Danny fainted. Two rings of light moved from his waist to each end of his body, transforming him back to human._

_As if in slow motion, Danny started to fall. Jack bouldered his way through the crowd in haste, then dove and skidded along the ground once reaching the opening, like a baseball player would do to get to home plate before the ball. He caught Danny in time as his wife trained the Fenton Bazookaon the gryphon. Her aim was perfect and the ghost was sucked into a temporary portal back to the Ghost Zone. Jack cradled Danny close to himself as he assumed a kneeling position. The wound on Danny's leg had stopped bleeding, but not that of his arm, which dripped a little onto Jack's orange jumpsuit, staining it. Danny's hair was dirty and messy, his visible skin (face, neck, and arms) scratched and bruised, his eyes shut tight, and his breathing shallow. Jack held a deep compassion and concern for his son as he took all of this in. And somewhere, nagging near the surface, a strong sense of guilt for what he'd done, what he was responsible for... _

_He blinked in surprise when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Maddie stood behind him, giving Danny a brief glance before turning her attention to the more pressing matter. As Jack looked up from his son, he noticed that the crowd of people who'd watched the fight had encircled them, but kept their distance. No one spoke or moved, though everyone had some form of curiosity plastered across their face. Jack held Danny closer to his chest and Maddie muttered to him, "I think we should leave, Jack. And quickly." Agreeing completely with his wife, Jack stood and carried Danny through the crowd, which obligingly parted for the Fentons, though not without craning their necks to get a better look at the halfa in Jack's arms. Once safe in the Fenton RV, Jack gunned the engine and sped his injured son home as fast as he could go without getting into an accident._

* * *

He had arrived. Danny was standing just inside the Ghost Zone, coming through Vlad's portal (and using the knowledge that Vlad wouldn't detect him, which didn't really matter in the end since Vlad seemed to be out). He sighed. _I guess this is it_. He let a few memories wash over him once more before continuing forward... 

..._"Oh right, sorry, **Phantom**. That's what you like to call yourself, right? **Ghost**!"_...

..._"This _is_ the Ghost Zone! I _am_ a ghost!"_...

..._"I've thought of somewhere I can go"_...

...and here I am... almost...

_

* * *

"Did you guys here da news?" Technus asked a group of ghosts. He'd been preparing to haunt a tv station - to gain ultimate power over all things electronic and to use the mass communication of the media to his advantage in taking over the world - when he saw the Ghost Child on a screen. Instead of following through with his plan, he decided to come here instead, and tell the others. _

_"What news? Walker's prison get another breakout?" asked Desiree._

_"No," answered the Box Ghost. "He's talking about The Halfa. _I am the Box Ghost! Bewa--!"

_Skulker shoved the annoying one aside while speaking. "Something's happened to the Whelp?"_

_"Yes," replied Technus, smiling with his information. "Everyone in Amity Park knows his secret. It won't be long till it's spread to dee entire woild!"_

_Expressions of shock settled on each of the ghosts' faces._

_"You're kidding, right?" said Kitty at the same time as Ember commented, "The Dipstick's halfa status no longer a secret? Well, I guess that leaves him pretty preoccupied now, doesn't it?"_

_The ghosts, of course, all had previous knowledge of Danny's secret identity, though none of them ever felt inclined to try and reveal it for him. In fact, some of the ghosts had used Danny's fear of being discovered to their advantage, Walker and Technus among them. With all the humans knowing, it definitely seemed that there were going to be some changes to the real world. If they supported the boy, it would get worse for the ghosts. But if they did not, then perhaps this was a blessing. They supposed they'd have to wait a couple of days to find out. Since they knew Danny was harmless in the sense that he'd never actually try to destroy them, some of them did wonder how he was taking it. But most were happy that, for at least a little while, Danny would probably not be bothering them by returning them to the Ghost Zone, like he always constantly seemed to be doing._

_As the others thought about Danny's situation, Skulker slowly slipped away, and headed toward's his employer's portal. This was something Plasmius would want to know immediately._

* * *

She was pretty angry, sometimes, when she thought about it. It had been _Danny_ to destroy her life with his stupid ghost dog! And as Fenton he'd been flirting with her, while knowing the entire time that he was two-timing her. He'd been playing with fire! But then, she'd either get confused or sad, or both. Why hadn't Danny told her? And who was he, really? She'd known him from two complete opposite dynamics - as a human, he was cute and clumsy and she liked him, but as a ghost... well, hatred was the nicest way to put it. How could she have neglected to notice the fact that they were the same person all along? And now that Danny was missing, and everyone was looking for him, she felt sympathy for the boy. The poor kid was being talked about left, right, and center, and with a multitude of opinions, some that were quite disturbing. Imagine locking him up for experiments... no wonder Danny didn't mind being invisible at school. _This_ kind of attention was very negative. Would Danny even reappear? He was a ghost, after all, he could probably stay physically invisible forever. Then she'd never get her answers. Would he even want to tell her? Sometimes, if she thought of him as Fenton, she thought he might. He would want to clarify everything that he'd done to her. Maybe Phantom had been telling the truth when he said it wasn't his dog, but then, why had he destroyed her suit? It just didn't make sense. How could nice and kind Danny possibly be the same person as the heartless ghost, Phantom? Would she even forgive him if they met again? _Why didn't he tell her in the first place?_ And once again, her emotions would return to a form of anger and frustration at her situation, cycling through these thoughts, over and over. 

While Valerie lay on her bed, contemplating all of that, the other two in her home were preparing for sleep. Jazz's "bed" was an inflatable mattress they put on Val's floor, covered with bed sheets, blankets, and a pillow. She'd already made it her own, in a way, by resting her Bearbert on the pillow. At the moment, she was in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. Damon was in his room, changing into his pyjamas. He was humming a tune to himself when the phone rang.

"Hello?" he said while picking up the receiver.

"Hello, Mr. Gray. My name is Operative O and I'm with the Guys in White," said the man on the other end of the line. "We're the branch of the government that deals with paranormal activity, more specifically, ghosts," he informed.

"Yes, I've heard of you," commented Damon.

"Then you know that we're in charge of the search mission for Danny Phantom, a.k.a. Daniel Fenton?"

"Yes, I figured as much. But what has this got to do with me?"

"Your daughter goes to school with the boy, right? We're looking for any support we can find from those who know him. According to law, Mr. Fenton is not allowed to have ghost powers. Any help would be appreciated."

Damon shifted the receiver to his other ear as he sat down on the bed, taking a moment to think about it. The voice on the other end sounded like a voice of authority and a lot of him felt that helping might be the best thing to do. After all, his daughter had been infatuated with the boy before she discovered that he was also her arch-enemy. He didn't like the fact that both kids were so involved with ghosts in the first place. If they could turn Danny back to normal, then everything would be better. Danny wouldn't be involved in ghost hunting anymore, and Valerie could give it up. And maybe even they could get along again. He did want his daughter to be happy, after all.

"Yes, I'll help," replied Damon after his moment of consideration. "He seems to be a good boy."

"Great. We'll send you some information via email, and we'll meet with you Friday morning to talk. We'll also give you a Fly-Tell device."

"A what?"

"It is a device that will inform us when a high ecto-presence is near you. This is for your protection."

"Ok," agreed Damon. "Would you like my email address then?"

"We already have it," said Operative O. "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Gray. We'll see you in a couple of days then."

"Bye," said Damon as he hung up. He walked over to his computer and turned it on. Sure enough, there was a new message in his inbox from the Guys in White. He opened it up. It wasn't all that informative, just general safety guidelines for the public when they're around ghosts. He shut down his computer and turned off his light, ready to sleep for the night.

Outside his door stood Jazz, with her back to the wall. She'd overheard most of the conversation from Damon's end, which didn't tell her much, but once seeing him pull up that stuff on ghosts at his computer, she figured he was up to something that involved her brother, and she didn't trust him. A plan began to form in her mind. Finally, a direction she could take, something she could do to save Danny. She'd need to gather more information first, and she didn't want to wait until it was too late, but this might really be the only way she could protect him, since he most likely wasn't going to come to her before getting caught by someone else. Quickly, Jazz returned to Val's room and slipped under the covers on her mattress. She'd mull it over more tomorrow. Groaning slightly as she thought about the next day, she rephrased that last thought. She'd plan it more tomorrow, during class. Her and Valerie would be returning to school for the rest of the week. _There's no point to throw away your education. You've had a couple of days off already, don't want to fall too far behind._ Were they Damon's words or her own rationalizations? Jazz began to drift away into slumber.

Valerie still lay wide awake, staring at her ceiling. Her thoughts weren't going to let her get much sleep tonight, same as the past two nights, but perhaps it would be best if she at least tried to get some rest. She _was_ going back to school the next day, after all.

* * *

Over in FentonWorks, Maddie and Jack lay next to each other in bed. The entire day seemed to be a living nightmare, and they didn't think things could get any worse. The phone rang out in the quiet house, and they knew they were wrong. 

Maddie answered it with reservation.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mrs. Fenton. This is Agent Miller, from the FBI. We met earlier today?"

"Yes. What do you want now?" she asked with her eyes narrowed. What _else_ could they possibly take from her?

"I'm sorry to inform you, but you and your husband will have to be moved out tomorrow. It'll be only temporary. We want to monitor the Ghost Portal in your basement, and your son may return home at some point. We need to find him as soon as possible. I do hope we have your cooperation on this. I could get another warrant if you must?"

Maddie clenched the fist of her free hand in anger. She bit her lower lip to stop herself from saying anything she'd regret. "Bring us that warrant in the morning, and we'll leave."

"Ok, see you then. Goodnight."

Maddie hung up without another word. She looked over to Jack and saw him staring straight back at her. She could tell from his expression that he knew. They weren't going to be getting any sleep tonight, were they? Maddie sighed in frustration and got up. Guess they'd better start packing now. Jack soon followed her, his mind a million miles away, hoping his son would be alright... that his son would forgive him when they met again...

* * *

-(-)-

GLE - Heh, the film students were based on a true story... I was the one with the boom mic... he was an insane director... Anyways, my summer's about to go into a drastic change and busy mode. I've got three more weeks of what I'm doing now, then a week at a major competition, then I finally return home to help move stuff out (since we just sold it)(hence crazy busy mode). I don't know if I'll be able to get in more than one update before I leave (I'll totally get in at least one), but I'll try for two. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!


	5. Of Being Half Ghost

GLE – Merry (belated) January 7th Christmas! That is, if you're Orthodox, like me. I hope you enjoyed your holidays and are refreshed for the new term to start. I know it's been half a year since I last updated, and there's an incredible amount of you who seem to love this story. Well, I finally made some time to work on it and this chapter, as far as I can tell, will probably end up being the longest one overall.

I know, you want to get to reading it, so I'll wrap this up. Thanks to Esme, my former roommate who beta'd the parts I wrote last summer (we've gotta hang out more this term!), and to (a somewhat reluctant) Fey, who beta'd the parts I wrote more recently when I wanted some immediate feedback as I typed away. Plus, thanks to both of them for the "character motivations" discussion that has helped me finalize my ideas for the ending of this story.

Whee! Here we go...

-(o)-

Do Superheroes Exist?

Of Being Half Ghost

"Welcome to _Insight_," announced a disembodied male voice as a set laden with a couch, two comfortable looking chairs, a coffee table, and four women appeared on the screen. "Discussing today's current events with Emily Marden..." the shot cut to another camera that was focused on a close up of a tall woman in her late 30's, with shoulder length chestnut hair. "... Anna Cox..." a woman with short bleached hair and a round face smiled. "...Lauren Costanza..." sitting next to Anna on the couch, a woman with tan skin and long, dark hair tied back in a ponytail. "...and Susan Benjamin!" On the chair opposite Emily, Susan had her legs crossed, and flicked a stray strand of her curly blond hair out of her eyes. The sound of the studio audience's applause could be heard as the intro music faded out.

When the clapping subsided as well, Emily cleared her throat to begin the discussion.

"Well, to start off today, I brought with me a little something that arrived in the mail this morning," she said to the others as she reached into a bag on the floor next to her chair. "I have a cousin who happens to live in Amity Park, and he sent it to me. Apparently they've had these at souvenir shops there for the past couple of months." She held up a small toy for the camera.

"A Danny Phantom action figure?" laughed Susan. "Well, that's certainly appropriate, isn't it, girls?"

There was a murmur of agreement and nodding of heads. Emily placed the gimmick on the table.

Lauren turned to face the camera and stated, "Yes. Today's first topic is the phenomenon of the ghost-human hybrid, Danny Phantom."

"From what we've been able to dig up," continued Emily. "The boy, Danny Fenton, had an accident in his parents' lab, and Danny Phantom was the result. He seems to be able to change at will from shy and quiet human, to a butt-kicking super-ghost!"

"So, Susan, you wanna start us off?" asked Anna gently.

"Sure thing," said Susan energetically, placing her coffee mug on the table. "His parents are professional ghost hunters. If we didn't have proof that ghosts exist I'd've thought they were crazy. Well, I suppose that's still up for debate. What I'm wondering is how they could let a young teen wander unsupervised into their lab full of hazardous equipment. I mean, becoming _half_ ghost is like almost killing him, isn't it?"

"Well, he _isn't_ dead, and from their interviews, I think his parents really do care about him," countered Emily in a friendly but competitive tone. "At least his mother does. Mr. Fenton doesn't seem very talkative. But I will give it to you that their work _is_ dangerous. I suppose their son is just continuing the family business. He certainly seems capable of defending himself against the creatures."

"But he's just a kid!" exclaimed Susan, waving her arms for emphasis. "He shouldn't _be_ fighting ghosts at all!"

"Yes," Anna agreed, resting her cup of tea on her lap between two steady hands. "Imagine, he's just, what? Fourteen? He's not even old enough to drive a car. And here he is, playing superhero to protect us all."

"You make it sound like it's a game to him," said Emily indignantly.

"It _is_ a game to him – he's a kid!" affirmed Susan.

Holding her hand with her palm open towards her coworkers, Emily declared, "I think he's quite serious about this. No one would go out there and put their life on the line like that _every day_ if they weren't serious."

Susan had no response as Emily took a quick sip of her coffee, letting both of her hands and her mug return to the armrest of her chair.

"Anna brought up an interesting point," Lauren stated picking up the conversation while uncrossing her legs and re-crossing them in the other direction. "_Is_ he a superhero? By definition? And _should_ he be one?"

"What's the definition of a superhero? Are we really even qualified to define one?" Susan asked. She brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face. "In any case, I don't think he should be one – it's too much responsibility for a kid to handle. He should be worrying about school and friends and stuff, not whether or not someone will be attacked by a ghost."

"He probably does worry about those things – I don't envy him for the stress he's under if that's the case," Anna remarked empathetically.

Leaning forward, Emily added, "Isn't that part of what makes him a superhero? His selflessness? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that it's typical of a superhero to struggle with living their lives while saving the day. They try to keep in balance both of their identities."

"But those identities are supposed to be _secret_ to one another, aren't they?" pointed out Lauren. "Danny doesn't have much of a secret anymore where his identities are concerned. Can we still consider him a superhero?"

"He already has the powers," replied Emily firmly. "They are a part of who he is. If I were him I'd want to use them for the better good. But I don't know if I'd be strong enough to face death the way he does…" she finished quietly, letting her voice trail off.

Susan spoke up again. "Those same powers are potentially dangerous. He can outmatch most of the ghosts he encounters, from the reports I've seen about his battles. That's enough to terrify any student who goes to school with him. Makes me wonder if he isn't a bomb waiting to go off? They say he gets bullied, and yet he takes it even with more than enough strength to put it to an end."

"But nothing in his character suggests that he'd ever do such a thing," responded Anna carefully. "He uses his powers to protect people, not to hurt them. And he's obviously been trying to keep it all hidden from the rest of the world, successfully doing so for months until now."

"I wonder how much power he has?" Lauren speculated curiously. "We know he can fly, shoot blasts at his opponents…"

"He can pass through solid objects and become invisible," Emily included.

"No wonder no one can find him," noted Susan raising her hands and shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh, how do you think he is handling all of this?" exclaimed Anna with concern. "The poor dear."

Patting the petite blonde on her arm, Emily reassured, "Maybe we'll get a chance to interview him when he reappears?"

Half-smiling in a resigned sort of way, Susan leaned back in her chair, lifting her mug off the table at the same time. She said, "Till then we can only rely on what his friends and family are willing to tell us, which hasn't really been all that much, and on news reports and our own speculations." She took a deep sip of her drink, and the other three followed suit, nodding to her statement.

After a couple more moments, Lauren announced the change of topics, "When we return from the break, the current trend in Hollywood: motherhood."

Emily added enthusiastically, "And later, caffeine addictions!"

"You're telling me!" laughed Susan, raising her mug in a mock toast to the camera and taking another sip.

Click!

Damon Gray placed the tv's remote control on the couch's arm rest. He'd made sure the girls were awake about half an hour ago, and then chose to finish his breakfast in front of the tube. He now stood up and stretched, bringing his bowl back into the kitchen. Valerie was at the counter, filling her backpack with her lunch.

"Ready to go?" Damon asked his daughter.

She nodded.

"Good. Where's Jazz?"

"Right here," came a reply from the hall. "I'm coming."

Jazz entered the room while stuffing a book into her bag. Noticing how cramped the small space was with all three of them occupying it, she immediately turned around and led the way out towards the apartment door. They all put on their shoes and left. Damon decided to give them a ride to school this morning, as it _was_ the girls' first day back since the incident, and he was headed to work anyways.

* * *

Sam's hand reached for the door handle at the front entrance of Casper High, but before it made contact she heard someone call her name. 

"I see you're back from the dungeons," commented Tucker as he approached his friend.

Sam returned his smirk with her eyebrows raised and a small smile playing about her lips. "Seems like you've decided to leave your tech sanctuary, too. Ready for the institution of learning again?"

Tucker just laughed as they headed inside. Sam shrugged her shoulders, then sighed, suddenly looking quite tired.

"Long night?" Tucker guessed.

"Actually, ya… and I won't be doing anything like _that_ again for a while…"

They arrived at Sam's locker first. She turned the dial on her lock without really paying attention to it as she continued, "I'm glad that they at least realized that I was going insane with boredom and should come back to school. 'The fresh air is doing me good'," she added sarcastically.

The lock clicked open and the door swung forwards. Sam reached in and grabbed a book, while placing her lunch box on the shelf. She quickly shut her locker again and started walking with Tucker towards his.

"So, you gonna spill or what?" asked Tucker impatiently. "What happened last night?"

Sam grinned, "Weeell... my parents weren't particularly thrilled that I went out yesterday morning, of course. So they confined me to my room, sat me at my desk with my homework, and took away any form of communication I had with the outside world. Heh, close your mouth, Tuck, you look like a guppy."

Blinking, Tucker obeyed. "You had no technology at _all_? That's barbaric!"

Chuckling, Sam said, "Tell me about it. Anyways, good news is I'm done _all_ my homework for the week."

Sam recounted to Tucker each of her escape attempts from the previous day. Tucker laughed when Sam mentioned how she'd been caught by the cook, but he practically fell to the floor hysterically when she mentioned putting on a pink dress and climbing out her window at a quarter to four that morning. Neither of her parents, nor their help, had expected it. But, alas, her grandmother unknowingly alerted Mr. and Mrs. Manson when she called out to Sam, thinking the girl was one of her granddaughter's friends come to visit, and not her granddaughter herself. So, before dawn a conversation occurred between Sam and her parents. They spoke of their concern for her well-being and apprehension for her to be mixing with part-ghost, Danny Fenton. Sam made good points that she'd completed her homework and had nothing to do but die of boredom. Plus, she hadn't seen Danny since Monday's last class and had absolutely no idea where he'd gone to. Tucker wore an amused expression when Sam announced that she'd convinced her parents that he was just a techno-geek – nothing paranormal about him – so she could still hang out with her only other best friend. Apart from all that, though, the most compelling arguments to let Sam return to school were: 1) that she needed an education, 2) that Danny's being searched for by the entire world, not least of which the Guys in White, and 3) that the school is crowded, so Danny wouldn't show up there.

"So here I am," concluded Sam.

"Yep," agreed Tucker, closing his locker. "Man, your parents are harsh. All mine did was lecture me about how unsafe ghosts are, blah, blah, blah, then let me take another day off school to 'think about it'." He turned to face her. "I've been monitoring the web and tv, but I haven't seen anything about Danny being caught by anyone, so hopefully he's still ok."

Before they could continue their discussion, Sam and Tucker were cornered by the A Squad and bombarded with questions about Danny.

"Hey, losers!" Dash exclaimed closing in on them. "Why didn't any of you tell me about Phantom?" Getting no response from the duo, he asked, "So, Fenton's a freak?"

"Ya, and he could totally—" began Tucker in retaliation, but Sam interrupted him, with a growl, "Watch it!"

"How can he be da ghost boy?" Paulina demanded, wanting to hear it from a reliable source that was not the morning talk show.

"Well, Paulina," answered Sam condescendingly. "I dunno. Perhaps the electric shock from his parents' ghost portal had some minor side effects other than knocking him out. But you know, if he'd really wanted to let you in on his secret, he'd have told you about it himself."

Catching her drift, Paulina rebutted, "Oh, no. Don't you go thinking I'm jealous of you. I may have had a small crush on Danny Phantom," (Sam scoffed), "but the fact that he is part loser is too twisted for me. Sure, he's still unique, but it's a strange way," Paulina finished with an undertone of disappointment.

"Forget about that," said Dash cutting in, "What's he planning to do to me?"

Sam and Tucker blinked in surprise, not missing the note of panic in Dash's voice. Of course it must've been a shock to the jock to discover that the hero he worshipped was also the kid he'd been wailing on day in and day out, and now that the kid's secret was loose, what was stopping him from getting some payback?

"We don't know, Dash," replied Sam shaking her head.

"Sorry, man," added Tucker. "We haven't seen Danny since Lancer was hauling us off to detention. No idea where he is."

"But if it's any consolation," Sam stated, "Danny's probably not planning to do anything to you. It's just not like him. Besides, on any given day, you're the least of his worries, especially now."

At that moment, the warning bell rang and the crowd that had gathered around Sam, Tucker, Dash, and Paulina dispersed. Among the onlookers was Valerie Gray who left promptly, not wanting Danny's friends to notice that she was listening in.

Mr. Lancer marched down the hall, ushering students into classrooms. Clearing his throat, he remarked, "Do I really need to mention, _once again_, that although you may have all just witnessed the revelation of the biggest secret you'll discover throughout your high school careers, you are still here for the purpose of learning. Mr. Fenton, obviously, is not. Discussions about him must stop now and the lessons must go on."

And with that, he shut the door behind him, picked up some chalk, and began to write on the board.

* * *

Tap, tap, tap... Tap, tap, tap... Tap, ta— 

"Argh!" Danny cried as he awoke. "Klemper?" he asked while rubbing his eyes.

Tap, tap—

"Hey! I'm up already! Wouldya quit poking me?"

Klemper smiled and nodded his head vigorously. "Will you be my friend?"

Ignoring the question, Danny stretched then tried to massage a kink out of his neck. Sleeping on concrete was never comfortable. Glancing up at the large doorframe in front of which he'd slept, Danny admired the carvings of a fork and spoon and remembered briefly appearing at the Ghost Zone fest here during Christmas not long ago. He hadn't spent that much time inside since he'd left to visit the Ghost Writer and break the spell he was under. But none of that mattered now. Danny's plans from the previous day didn't extend much past his current position. He came to the Ghost Zone to satisfy the ghost part of him, maybe make a lair and live here... forever.

"Hey, Dipstick! Whachya doing here?"

Danny's eyes shot towards the blue-flame haired ghost who was floating at the bottom of the steps. Klemper was busy contenting himself by smiling back and forth between Danny and Ember.

"Yah," piped up Johnny 13 who slowed his motorbike to a halt, Kitty's arms wrapped around him. "You're not dead, are ya?"

"Nn," said Danny, then he cleared his throat. "I mean, no." Scoffing, he continued, "But I may as well be. This is the one place I doubt anybody'd look to find me, 'cept maybe Sam and Tucker, as if they'd ever be allowed to..."

"Ah, quit your whining!" spat Ember. "You're still alive, aren't you? Haven't you been some sort of hero to these people?"

Danny opened his mouth but no words came out.

"Cat got your tongue?" asked Spectra, joining in. She leered at Danny in her shadow form, her croony, Bertrand, right by her side, snorting.

"It didn't last long," Danny muttered angrily.

"What was that?" Spectra spoke sharply.

Sighing, Danny replied, "Look, if I was really 'some sort of hero' to them, then why are they all so quick to condemn me?" Danny took one step down and stood there.

"What are you planning to do?" questioned Johnny 13. "Crash here?"

Danny shrugged. "Well, yah. Sorta."

"Whoa, back up there a little, Baby Pops. You're giving up?" Ember asked, astonished. "Just like that?"

"No! I... I..." stammered Danny, becoming a bit red and casting his eyes down and to the side. "I... Don't you ever just wanna hide from it all sometimes?" he pleaded, looking up again. "I wish..." he paused, thinking better of finishing the sentence even though Desiree was not in sight. "Never mind."

"Look, kid, nothing that's worth having is ever easy to get," Spectra stated. "If you want to be accepted by your world, you're not putting much effort into it by being here. Besides, I'm sure Walker'd say it's 'against the rules'."

Danny closed his eyes a moment and sat down. Blinking, he glanced around the group of ghosts gathered in a semi-circle in front of him. Every face was just another one of his enemies, yet they weren't being hostile towards him. For a brief instant, Danny wondered whether it was a trap, or perhaps because of their location they wouldn't attack. Whatever the case was, they were right, and Danny knew it; he couldn't stay here much longer. But...

"What should I do then?" he asked out loud. "Go back, and then what?"

Shrugging, Spectra answered, "That's for you to figure out."

"You can do it, Danny," encouraged Kitty.

Danny returned her enthusiasm with a weak smile and stood up again. "Fine. I'll go." _But first,_ he thought reluctantly, _I want to know what Vlad thinks. The Guys in White are probably on my tail, and it's gonna take a lot of convincing that I'm a good halfa._

Danny started to fly away, ignoring once more Klemper's request to be his friend.

The other ghosts scattered and went back to their normal business. They were glad that The Halfa wouldn't be sticking around. Not only did it cramp their styles, but having him hidden in the Ghost Zone was a risk they didn't want to take. If humans decided to venture in looking for him, it could only mean trouble. The potential power that could be obtained by controlling the Ghost Zone may seem too great to pass up. Or perhaps the humans would instead aim to use the ghosts as sources of energy. Or, feeling threatened, they could close off any connection between the Ghost Zone and the Real World. No, the ghosts didn't want any of that. Happily, they watched Danny disappear in the distance before they wandered off, themselves.

* * *

"_Um, Boss?"_

_Skulker was floating in the center of Vlad's private library. Vlad had been working on his computer and was startled by the hunter's sudden appearance._

"What_ did I tell you about coming into the human portion of my castle?" the billionaire yelled while transforming into his alter-ego._

_Skulker eyed his employer's fists warily, since they'd begun to glow, and announced with haste, "You'll _want_ to hear this!"_

"_Very well then," said Plasmius dropping his arms to his side. "Hurry up with it – can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"_

_Skulker relaxed a little and said, "It's about the Whelp." The halfa's expression of anger and annoyance turned into one of interest. "Well," Skulker continued. "All of Amity Park knows his secret. They caught it on video."_

_Vlad's face paled, as much as a ghost's face can, and a moment later he stated, "You're serious?"_

_Nodding, Skulker confirmed, "It was on the news."_

_Neither of the two sensed Danielle, hovering in the doorway as she paused on her way to the kitchen. Instead, Vlad flew through the ceiling to the top floor and sped to his media chamber, with Skulker in pursuit. The room was filled with television monitors and computer equipment, wires trailing to the roof where they attached themselves to satellite dishes. In here, he could access almost any media feed in the world. He changed back to his human mode and began typing madly on a keyboard. The large screen in front of him lit up, tuning into Amity Park's Channel 4 News. A reporter was interviewing some man who was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Vlad pressed on a button to turn up the volume._

"_And we have footage of this very incident, which we bring you now," said the reporter._

_There was Daniel as Phantom, fighting a green gryphon, and looking exhausted. Two rings of light appeared, revealing the secret he'd been desperately trying to hide since his accident. Vlad took on a strange far-off look, frozen to his spot._

"_Uh, Plasmius? Boss?" Skulker asked tentatively, trying to get the halfa's attention. "What should we do?"_

"_Nothing," replied Vlad harshly, snapping out of his thoughts. "He'll come to me. Eventually."_

"Yes, but what will I do when he comes?" Vlad muttered to himself. "That's the question."

Currently, the billionaire was flying back to his Wisconsin castle from a business meeting in New York. His gaze was focused out a window of his private jet, but he wasn't really seeing anything. The meeting was just a false front and unfortunately one of the tedious tasks he had to do to maintain his human appearance. Vlad was glad it was over and he could return to the more pressing matter in his mind.

He'd spent a great deal of time over the past three days contemplating the whole situation. His initial thoughts revolved around the plots he'd been in the process of completing, which were now absolutely useless. No amount of re-evaluation could fix them; the circumstances demanded a rather radical change. Then he considered the understanding he held with the boy to keep each other's secret. Vlad had had some level of control over the younger halfa, but now that too was no longer relevant. And this worried him. Without his own secret to hide, what was stopping Daniel from spilling _his_?

Shoving this notion aside for the moment, as obviously Daniel had not mentioned his secret to anyone yet or there'd be someone knocking on his door about it, Vlad wondered how Danny himself was taking it. The little Badger had run away and no one had seen him since the incident. And what of his beloved Maddie? Did the truth about her son shock her? Was she upset by it? Was she agonizing about her son's disappearance?

Vlad reflected on what he himself would be going through if it'd been _him_. He came upon the impression of Daniel using his powers for 'noble causes' while _Plasmius_ was hardly known to do favors. Shuddering, Vlad filed the concept of his exposure to the world away with the other unpleasant thoughts.

And for a brief moment Vlad felt content with the idea of Danny paying him a visit. If the boy did come, then Vlad would regain a certain amount of advantage again.

Ultimately, however, it was not good news that Skulker had brought him. Everything was a mess. Vlad sighed and ran a hand through his hair, leaning back in his seat. The plane had begun its descent.

* * *

Tucker watched as the minute hand on the clock above the door slowly made its way to the end of class. He'd stopped typing his notes onto his PDA ten minutes ago in anticipation and he barely even registered the droning of the teacher's voice. As soon as the bell rang, he and Sam bolted into the hall. Sam was in and out of her locker before most students got to their feet, and the two of them were flying towards the exit. One moment, Tucker was twenty feet away from his destination, the next, he'd been hauled into a janitor's closet. He had to blink a few times before he realized where he was. 

"Jazz?" he asked loudly.

"Sh!" she uttered back. "Keep your voice down."

"Finally," said Sam. "Someplace where no one will be breathing down our necks about Danny. Nice one, Jazz. Tuck and I _were_ headed to the schoolyard, maybe climb a tree or hide behind some bushes, but this works _much_ better."

"Tell me about it. Half of them are worshipping Danny while the other half are freaked out about me and my entire family, and _everyone_ has something to say to me!" agreed Jazz. "Oh, and I did the 'bushes in the schoolyard' thing this morning, running to class on the final bell."

The two girls shared a smile, then Jazz informed, "I tried to call you yesterday. Well, actually, Valerie did, but your parents said you were busy. How mad were they that you visited me?"

"Survey says: very," replied Sam goodheartedly. "It's sort of a long story; I'll tell you about it some other time."

"Make sure she does," added Tucker, chuckling.

"So why did _Valerie_ try to call me?" inquired Sam while pulling out her lunch. Tucker cringed at the fruits and veggies laden before his friend, even though his stomach rumbled.

"Oh right, you don't know about her," muttered Jazz. "The jerks who showed up at our door when you left yesterday morning made me leave my parents and 'temporarily move in with a girlfriend', because _apparently_ my _parents_ aren't _devoted_." Calming down, Jazz continued, "I called your parents, but they hung up on me. The Grays have been kind enough to let me stay with them. I wanted to warn you that you'd probably be next on the FBI interview list and that I said no one had been there when Danny had his accident. I got a hold of Tucker, but I knew _I_ couldn't call you, so I asked Valerie to do it instead, on the premise that I wanted to ask you something. I think she was actually interested in talking to you too—"

"Slow down, Jazz!" said Sam holding up her hand. "It's ok. I didn't say anything. My _parents_ were in the room the entire time."

"Oh," Jazz mumbled while taking out her turkey sandwich.

"Meat..." whimpered Tucker.

Both girls looked at him as his stomach growled loudly.

He blushed. "Heh... sorry? I didn't want to brave the caf..."

"Here," sighed Jazz handing him half of her sandwich.

"Thanks!" exclaimed Tucker gratefully, his eyes lighting up. The sandwich was devoured in mere seconds.

"Anyways, being with Valerie might be useful," Jazz announced. "Mr. Gray got a call last night and it sounded like he was talking about Danny. Right after he hung up, he opened an email with ghost info on it. I sort of took a peek at his computer this morning; the email was from the Guys in White."

Sam leaned forward in interest. "What would _he_ have to do with _them_?"

"No idea," replied Jazz. "But, it did sound like he wanted Danny to get help. Maybe he thinks the Guys in White will 'cure him'."

"Yah right," grunted Tucker. "The Guys in White probably want to disembowel Danny, _then_ tear him apart, molecule by molecule. Anything even part-ghost is a threat to them."

"Which is why I think we should start keeping an eye on them," said Jazz slyly.

Tucker stared a moment then cracked into a wide grin. "I like your thinking, Jazz Fenton. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer!"

"Exactly," she confirmed.

* * *

He saw it an instant before flipping the lightswitch, reflected on the glass of an empty tank against the wall – _his_ glowing green eyes. The lab flooded with light and sure enough there stood Daniel next to the portal on the opposite end of the room. 

"Ah, Daniel. I've been expecting you," said Vlad walking forwards. He opened a cabinet door beneath one of the work benches and dropped his briefcase carelessly onto a shelf.

Danny didn't move; his arms still folded across his chest, his back still leaning against the portal's frame, his face still set in a distrustful expression. Now that he was here, he wasn't sure exactly what he was going to say, but he may as well appear calm about it.

Vlad stepped towards Danny smiling. He _was_ right, Danny did come to him after all. But what Danny came for, Vlad couldn't give him. Voicing these thoughts, Vlad said, "I'm sorry to hear of your predicament, Daniel, though I'm afraid there's not much I can do to help without exposing myself..."

Danny's resolve faltered a little. Had he come for nothing? And who was he to expect Vlad _would_ even consider supporting him? Letting his arms drop to his sides and standing up straight, Danny asked, "Not even if I threaten to reveal your secret too?"

Vlad continued to smile. "And what point would that accomplish? Two outted halfas and nowhere to go? And with all the _stress_ your parents are under right now, you'd add yet another burden to their hearts? Your father seems to be quite depressed lately, I hear."

Danny winced at that. Vlad was usually one to manipulate others, but he probably wasn't lying about this. Danny could imagine his dad being upset and guilty about the whole catastrophe, especially since he'd played a key role in it. But Danny didn't blame his father for what had happened. There wasn't really _anyone_ to blame since so much of it just accidentally occurred at the same time. And if Danny _had_ told him before the incident, there may not have _been_ an incident. Danny dropped his shoulders in defeat – he wouldn't rat out Vlad, there was nothing to be gained by it.

Vlad prided himself on his ability to produce persuasive answers on the spot. Seeing the boy's body language signal that he'd given in, Vlad felt his ego get another boost of encouragement. Yes, he could still charm his way to an advantage, and furthermore, he could feel safe that Daniel wasn't going to blab to everyone about him. Vlad grinned in satisfaction.

Danny was at a loss for words. He obviously couldn't stay here – or at least, he _wouldn't_. Living with Vlad was more than he could stomach at the moment, even in consideration of everything else that had happened. He cast his eyes around the room, trying to find something to say.

Vlad noticed and decided to put the boy a little at ease. "You may be pleased to know that 'whatever I'm scheming' has been completely debunked due to recent events and well, to put it bluntly, I've had to trash all my plans. And we were making such good progress on them too."

Danny nodded rigidly. _Good to know, but not really relevant at the moment,_ he thought. Sighing, he decided it was time to be direct. "Vlad, is there... do you think... what should I do?"

Vlad's eyes connected with the younger halfa's, and his smile faded. Leave it to Daniel to get right to the point and plead for help. In all honesty, Vlad didn't know. Somehow Daniel needed to regain a sense of normalcy in his life. And it was probably something that only he could do himself.

Plastering on a smile once more, Vlad stated, "Daniel, I wish I could help, I really do, but I just don't know the answer. Congratulations, you have me stumped."

Danny sighed again, trying to avoid a sinking feeling from overwhelming him. Maybe it was time he went back to face whatever it was everyone wanted to do with him. Running away was not how he wanted to continue to live. Halfheartedly he commented, "Well, thanks for your help, Vlad. I'll be on my way."

"Best of luck to you, little Badger. Cheerio," Vlad replied.

Danny leapt up and flew through the ceiling. Vlad dropped his smile immediately and gazed around the empty lab. Picking up a clean beaker, he threw it across the room, watching it shatter as it connected with the wall.

"Damn," he muttered.

Using his eye lasers, he incinerated the mess then headed upstairs for a cup of tea. Perhaps _it_ might aide him in letting go of some frustration.

* * *

Mr. and Mrs. Fenton stood in the doorway of their new living arrangements, courtesy the FBI. It had every appearance of a typical hotel room, from the floral printed bed covers, to the nature paintings on the walls, to the free samples of shampoo sitting on the bathroom counter. Maddie carried her suitcase inside and dumped it on the dresser across from the bed. She shivered as Jack slowly made his way in behind her, dragging his bag along to leave it on the floor at the foot of the bed. He sat down and slouched, staring at the blank tv. Maddie walked over to the window and glanced outside to their gorgeous view of the parking lot. She shut the curtains then turned off the fan. 

"Jack, Honey, I know you're still upset and that this is probably one of the worst experiences of our lives," (he half grunted and sarcastically smirked at that) "but it's time we start thinking of a way to help our son, and bring our family back together. We're Fentons, after all, and no ghost, or _human_, will ever truly keep us apart."

As Maddie sat down on the bed next to her husband, he lifted his head to her eyes, his hope returning to him after days of despair. He let out a long sigh, releasing all the tension he'd kept built-up inside. She was right, and he was ready to do everything he could to save and protect his son from those who would do him harm. A fight was beginning to burn deep within him and he spoke with determination.

"You're right, Maddie. It's time we take action. I can't sit here any longer and let my guilt get the best of me! We've got to show the world what us Fentons are made of!"

He kissed her quickly and stood up, his eyes glittering. Maddie got to her feet as well, smiling, and headed to the dresser to open a pocket of her suitcase.

"I thought this might come in handy," she stated, pulling out an ectogun.

"Just as I was thinking," agreed Jack as he dumped the contents of his bag onto the bed. Apart from an extra jumpsuit and his pajamas, the bed was laden with as many of their ghost-hunting inventions as Jack could carry undetected by the FBI. "And to think, after all those times of wondering why they'd malfunction around Danny…"

He picked one up and turned it on. Nothing showed on the radar, but he grinned nonetheless. "When Danny comes back to Amity Park from wherever he's disappeared to, we'll know first thing!"

Maddie closed the gap between her and Jack, stood on her tiptoes and gave him a peck on his cheek. "This is why I love you so much."

"I love you too, Baby."

"Now, let's get some rest and tomorrow we'll find our son."

* * *

Jazz lay with her back to Valerie's bed, her shoulders shrugged as high as she could get them without seeming uncomfortable. In her hands (and slightly covered by her bed sheets) she held one of Tucker's PDA's. She'd been discreet about bringing it with her to bed, and now she, Sam (who was on Tucker's other PDA), and Tucker (who was on his computer) were conversing via messaging. Tucker was currently making his attempt to hack into the Guys in White's database, and Sam and Jazz spent most of their time speculating on Danny's location, while reassuring each other that no news was good news. Tucker was surprised by the level of security the ghost hunters had on their computer systems, but credited it to the government's tech division for wanting to keep anything government related a secret. 

Yawning, Jazz glanced at the time in the upper right corner of the PDA and decided to call it quits for the night. She typed in a leaving comment then logged off, quietly tucking the PDA into Bearbert's jacket before letting sleep overtake her.

On the bed behind her, Valerie lay with her eyes open for the fourth night in a row, staring at the streetlamp outside her window. Being back at school had merely confirmed that absolutely no one knew where Danny was or what he was thinking. Not even his best friends knew of his whereabouts, though they didn't really say more than that. They were still keeping the rest of his secrets confidential, much to Valerie's dissatisfaction. And since Jazz seemed to have nodded off an hour ago, Valerie couldn't even question her about her brother's intentions with regards to the whole 'Phantom as her archenemy' thing. Even if she got the chance, she probably wouldn't want to berate her guest with it anyways. Who knew how long Jazz was going to be staying?

Valerie rolled over and shut her eyes, gearing up for more strange and uncomfortable dreams about half-ghosts and hunting.

Danny flew stealthily through the night. The wind whirling past him was the only sound he heard as he made his way back home. _Home_…

* * *

-(o)-

GLE – All the key players are in, now let the _fun_ begin... mwahahahaha!

A completely random side note: A toothbrush is something Jack would forget... I'm sure Maddie brought it for him.

So anyways, that's it for now. We're almost half way through this story and lots of action to come. I'm not making any promises as to when I'll update next, but I'm probably not going to work on it during term (which ends in April).

Just a random update on my life; everything is going great! I got high marks (mostly) on the courses I just finished. I just flew back (late last night) from a training camp that was tough but has me well positioned for the championship competitions that are coming up (one in two weeks, one at the end of February, and one in mid March). The courses I'm going to be taking this term look like they'll be a blast (and I worked it so I don't have class on Fridays). And next weekend, Fey and I are going to be taking another Peak Potentials course, called "Life Directions". I'm so excited because I'll finally learn the tools to discovering _exactly_ what I want to do with my life (and just in time too, since I'm graduating in a year and a half).

So I hope you all enjoyed this gift. Have fun in whatever you do.

-)Golden Lunar Eclipse(-


	6. Redemption or Ricochet

GLE – Greetings, fellow DP fans! As I promised, I came back to this fic as soon as term ended (well, actually, term hasn't officially ended yet, but I lucked out and don't have _any_ exams, so _I'm_ done!), and here's the next installment! Just a little reminder, I began this fic before RT was out, and I've stuck to the original plot outline fairly well, so it's gonna have a few discrepancies from the new eps. Although, I do add in some minor details based on eps from RT onwards, but they don't affect the grand scheme of it all (basically, mimicking lines that were uttered in the later eps of the series… mostly from RT).

Things I learned while writing this chapter: Tetslaff is spelt with two f's, but even more shocking is that Starr is spelt with two r's… I got this straight from the credits themselves, watching the end of an episode I had taped and pausing it to read the cast credits. I'm not going to go back and change the way I've previously written their names, but I will henceforth spell them correctly. I also learned that Jazz's VA, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, was born exactly 14 years before I was. How cool is it that we share birthdays? -_crickets chirping_- Ok, never mind my enthusiasm…

Random trivia: (oh right, if you care about the news crew appearances and don't want to be spoiled about their appearances in the final episodes of DP, skip this paragraph). I scanned the episodes and discovered things about the news casters of the series. First of all, Shelly Makamoto (the short black-haired one who wears a red top), appears in PE as part of Channel 6 news, EFAE on Channel 13 and later in the ep, Channel 7, and in PP with no specific station. Harriet Chin only appears once on the news in MDG. Tiffany Snow reports for Channel 4 in CF, and again at Action News Channel 4 in RS, and also on an unspecified channel in TFBC. And my personal favourite, Lance Thunder makes his first appearance in RS with Tiffany Snow's station (Action News Channel 4) originally in the news room doing a ghost weather report. He is then booted "outside the safety of the studio" to do a live report on the scene. His next appearance is in TFBC, when Jack changes from the channel that Tiffany is reporting on to a different channel where some reporter named Bill introduces Lance. Lance is the only reporter shown in RT and he finally has a desk job. He still has a desk job in EFAE on Channel 8, but in TOT he's back on the field for Channel 4 (yelling "I quit!" when he gets blown away). His final appearance is in PP where he's at a desk for no specific channel working with Shelly, then in the field for Channel 7. In EFAE, there are three news helicopters one with "Action News" written on it, one with "News 4" written on it (gee, I thought they were one and the same?), and one with "11 News" on it (which might actually be the Roman numeral II, as Lance did say "air copter 2" was at the scene).

Other side notes: Vlad somehow crept his way into this chapter. He wasn't supposed to show up again until next chapter, but it actually works better this way… so he may not be showing up in the next chapter. Well, I suppose you probably don't want me to keep you any longer from getting to read this chapter, so go ahead… and as always, enjoy!

* * *

-(o)-

Do Superheroes Exist?

Redemption or Ricochet

The girls had left for school half an hour ago, and Damon was headed out the door himself. Since no major ghost attacks had occurred at Axion Labs in the past two months, he'd regained some respect and responsibility from his boss and was now on a shift rotation; his schedule involved a combination of day shifts and night shifts, not to mention two days off work each week (not necessarily on weekends). Today, he was on night shift, so he didn't leave for work until later in the evening. Normally he'd try to rest up for it, but this morning he had a meeting to attend.

He parked his car near the city's main green space and made his way towards the "wishing" fountain. He was early, as usual, and took a moment to enjoy the fresh air.

"Hello, Mr. Gray," greeted Operative K a few minutes later. He and Operative O approached the man from the other side of the fountain.

"Oh, hi!" said Damon, extending his hand. The formalities finished quickly and all three men headed towards a park bench and sat down. Damon looked at the government agents expectantly.

"We don't need to reiterate how important we consider your cooperation to be and how dangerous Daniel Fenton is while he's under the influence of his ghostly powers, but we do appreciate you meeting with us today," said O.

"And as promised, we've brought a couple of anti-ghost tools that will aid in your protection, as well as the safety of your daughter," announced K. Handing a small box to Damon, he continued, "Inside is a Fly-Tell device and a White-Ceiver."

"_Who comes up with these names?_" muttered O to himself.

K carried on. "To activate the Fly-Tell device, press the little button on the bottom and pin it to an article of clothing. It reacts to ectoplasmic energy, so if a ghost comes within a set radius of the device, it will alert us and we will be there to catch it. Plus, it also acts as a shield, should an ectoblast be fired at it. The White-Ceiver is similar except that it does not travel well. Flip the small switch on its side and place it on a magnetic surface, such as a refrigerator or a mail box, generally something around your home. It covers a larger area and will warn us about an imminent ghost attack long before it occurs."

Damon took each item out of the box and inspected them for himself. As he held the smaller piece he reflected on his situation. Here he was, sitting on a bench in Casper Park next to two government agents of the paranormal branch, essentially becoming one of their lookouts for the boy known as Danny Phantom. But it was more than that. Thinking back to when this whole ghost thing started, when his life had fallen apart, it was Danny's fault for breaking through his "impenetrable" security system. Damon's eyes widened with this realization. And since that time, his daughter had gotten herself involved with hunting ghosts (and ironically, the ghost half of the boy she liked). Damon hadn't ever gotten completely comfortable with his daughter's hunting exploits, and a large part of him hoped that she'd find something much safer with which to occupy her time.

Now, with Danny's secret revealed to the entire world, Damon couldn't bring himself to hate the boy. After everything was said and done, losing his job and having to face the challenge of regaining respect had allowed him to grow as a person, despite the fact that it did get trying at times. But more importantly, his daughter had blossomed into a caring, considerate, and hard-working young woman and he couldn't have been prouder.

It was for her that he was collaborating with the Guys in White. They'd be able to help Danny become normal again and then no one would have to worry anymore.

"Any questions?" asked Operative O, breaking through his thoughts. Damon shook his head. "Well, then I guess we'll be on our way. It was a pleasure to meet you."

The three men stood up ready to leave. But before anyone else said another word, two urgent beeping sounds went off from each of the operatives' wrists. They lifted their arms to read the message on their watch-utilities, serious expressions covering their faces.

"Let's move," instructed Operative K while setting a fast jogging pace, Operative O right behind him. Damon watched them disappear into the distance, before registering their sudden departure.

* * *

This was it. Danny had returned to Amity Park in the grey of dawn, but chose to grab a couple hours of uncomfortable sleep in a secluded area before entering the city. He wanted to be somewhat rested for the coming day. He was nervous as he flew invisibly towards the school, but he'd faced much worse than this and he knew that he'd get through it. Landing on the steps, he changed back into Fenton, and reached for the door. As his hand grasped the handle, he gasped a frozen puff of air and a shiver ran down his back. 

_Now?_

Turning, he heard the howl echo off of the building, and the fast-approaching green blur drew the attention of his eyes. But he wasn't the only one looking out at the coming ghost; the students sitting next to the window on the front side of the school had all been adequately distracted, and some of them began to yell when they spotted the Ghost Boy. Danny transformed and took flight once more, and then the words that were being shouted by his fellow classmates finally reached his ears.

"Danny! Danny! Danny!"

They were chanting his name, they were cheering him on. For a moment, Danny was taken aback by the support and a small smile crept onto his face. But all too soon the ghost arrived, and any trace of happiness vanished. She appeared to be a mermaid, with a fish-tail for the lower half, sharp gills and pointed fins, and a human-like upper half, though with gills down the forearms, spikes on the shoulders, sharp teeth and nails, and pointed ears. Her hair looked like a tangle of seaweed but moved like flowing water, and her eyes were completely black.

"You picked a poor day to attack," said Danny to his foe. "I'm really not in the mood right now to fight you, and for your sake, fighting me when I'm angry is a bad idea."

The ghost responded with a devious smile and charged forward.

"Wrong choice," commented Danny. He dodged her strike and fired an ectoblast into her back. She let out an almost musical howling noise and swung her tail, catching Danny in his stomach, and leaving a gash on his right side with the point of it. Danny fell, winded, and she pounced on him, digging her claw-like nails into his shoulders. She emitted a low wail with her vocal cords that functioned as a lullaby trying to subdue him. He acted quickly and phased into the ground, bursting out from below her with a blast to her core. It sent her flying to the other side of the street, but it was obvious to Danny that the fight was far from over. She bounced back swiftly, flying towards him again, anger evident in her expression.

The crowds at the windows were growing. Among the onlookers and those encouraging Danny were Dash and Paulina, as well as Danny's own Team Phantom. Sam and Tucker stood next to each other, hands pressed against the window glass. Jazz was watching from a different room, but all three of them were feeling the same way. It was a mixture of relief for knowing that Danny was alright and back in town with them, worry for Danny in his current battle plus the fact that he was back out in the open where the Guys in White could find him, and surprise and confusion as to why Danny had returned.

The mermaid let out a shrill sonic wave that shattered the windows and forced the students to take a step backwards. The sound penetrated the shield Danny had formed around himself, and resonated uncomfortably with his body, shaking him slightly. Danny fought back by speeding towards his enemy and aiming to punch her, but she moved down and sideways, letting his fist get caught up in her hair. She dragged him along behind her as she flew fast towards the ground, turning intangible a few feet above it, allowing Danny to pass through her and crash.

Danny jumped back onto his feet and was about to push off when an unwelcome voice grabbed his attention.

"Danny Phantom, a.k.a. Daniel Fenton, in accordance with the Federal Anti-Ecto Control Act, article one, section one, subsection A, you're under arrest. Surrender immediately."

"_This is a Fly-Tell device, Mr. Sanchez. It will alert us when a high ecto-presence is near," said Operative O. The two paranormal hunters had arrived in Amity Park earlier that afternoon, unpacked in their hotel room, and were now meeting with a couple of the parents of the children that the FBI agents had interviewed the previous day. Mr. Sanchez's daughter was among the girls the FBI agents had listed in their report as being of interest to the Ghost Boy, and the Guys in White felt that Mr. Sanchez deserved to know. But more importantly, he ought to have the opportunity to keep her safe. "Just attach it to your daughter's school bag and we'll protect her." The man was awfully cooperative, and he already seemed to be aware of Danny's interest in his daughter, muttering something about not trusting him since before the school dance._

_After speaking with him, the operatives called it a night. They'd be meeting more parents the following day, among them, Mr. Gray._

"Oh great," Danny mumbled. "Perfect timing, as usual." He pulled himself away from his battle with the mermaid and yelled towards the Guys in White, "Can't you see I'm busy at the moment?"

"A ghost of your power on the loose? Inexcusable. You need to come with us right away," said K as O sped their vehicle to the scene.

"Then I'm sorry to ruin your plans, but—" Danny shot at the car, causing it to veer off into a fire hydrant. "Actually, I'm not sorry. I've got better things to do than worry about what you think."

As if on cue, the mermaid came from behind him and tried to catch him again. Danny went intangible and grabbed her tail, swinging her in a big circle before letting her go flying down the street.

The operatives clambered out of their car, holding their heads from spinning. When the head rush passed, they trained their guns on Danny's form and fired. Danny reacted quickly and evaded the attack, diving down towards them to fight back, as the mermaid was recovering.

"Be on alert," said O to K. "The FBI may have no idea what they're talking about when it comes to ghosts, but their profile of this kid seemed spot on."

"_Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Fenton. Goodbye."_

_Agents Miller and Collins of the FBI left FentonWorks and climbed into a car on the corner of the street. As Miller started the engine, Collins spoke up._

"_So, where to now? The best friends?" he asked._

"_No," replied Miller. "We'll get to them, but first let's stop by the local news station and gather the footage they have on this kid. It's mid-morning, so they shouldn't be very busy, and it's nearby anyways."_

_Profile: Daniel Fenton/Danny Phantom  
__Age: 14  
__Height: 5'2''  
__Weight: 110 lbs  
__Eye color: blue (as human), green (as ghost)  
__Hair color: black (as human), white (as ghost)_

The Guys in White charged their ectoguns and fired at Danny who shot back, letting the blasts meet mid-air. Danny became invisible and soared towards them, knocking the guns out of their hands when he reached them.

"Big mistake, punk," uttered O. He pulled out another weapon from a pocket and activated it. Before Danny could react, the item had located him and burst upon contact, making him visible and burning his left wrist.

"Ouch!" cried Danny, holding onto the spot that stung.

"There he is!" exclaimed K. "You're going down, kid!"

_Miller and Collins left the news station feeling rather disturbed by what they'd been watching. Most of the footage of the infamous Ghost Boy displayed him causing damage to the city, with only a few seemingly redeeming moments. The agents continued to gather information, paying a visit to Danny's two best friends next._

_Subject shows an interest in danger. Example: Testing the ghost portal on his own. He's a risk-seeker  
__with a survivor and hero mentality. He likes to be in perilous, life-threatening situations, and to create  
__circumstances from which he can appear to be a hero when he succeeds in them. Example: Pulling the  
__sword from the ground when Amity Park was covered by an ecto-dome and inviting ghosts in so that he  
__could battle them off._

Hearing the siren's song again, Danny turned in time to catch her, hand to hand. She smiled wickedly at him as she used her strength to push him backwards. The Guys in White ignored the threatening ghost, and aimed once more at Danny Phantom.

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" declared Sam, stepping away from the window. "Come on."

Tucker followed her across the room, but before they could make their exit, Mr. Lancer blocked the door.

"And just where do you think you're going, Ms. Manson and Mr. Foley? I can't let you leave this classroom. It's much safer here at the moment."

"_That Foley kid was only slightly more helpful than the Manson girl," said Collins as they drove away from the Manson residence. "Let's go to the school and see what Fenton's grades have to say about him. We can grab a late lunch on the way. I hear the Nasty Burger's pretty good."_

_Subject is destructive and violent when agitated. Example: Christmas Incident, tearing apart the nutcracker  
__of toys and obliterating them, destroying the entire city's presents. He acts first and asks questions later._

Danny returned the mermaid's smug smile and let her push him closer to the Guys in White. At the right moment, he forced her to soar passed him and into the line of fire of the two men. She issued a hollow wail in distress when their ecto-beams hit her. Furious, she summoned a whirlpool of energy to surround both Danny and the Guys in White and take them into a spinning vortex.

"Looks like you made her angry," Danny yelled to the two paranormal investigators with a hint of humor in his voice before he started to become dizzy.

_He is sarcastic, which shows that he doesn't take anything seriously. Low grades convey that he is inconsiderate  
__of his studies, which means he spends most of his time focused on his ghost life. He leaves his chores until the  
__last minute, which asserts that he doesn't care about doing them and that he is not responsible enough to do  
__them right away._

"But Ms. Tetslaff, my brother's in danger! I've _got_ to help him!"

"I'm well aware of that, Ms. Fenton, but you shouldn't be getting involved in the ghost battle. You're to stay inside, soldier."

_As the youngest child, it is natural for him to be an attention seeker. His age alone would indicate  
__instability (all those hormones) and the lack of mature attitude towards what is truly possible in this  
__world – he feels he can do anything and get away with it. He doesn't think about the consequences  
__of his actions. Example: Destroying government property, like the Guys in White's jet in a recent  
__encounter as well as other materials of theirs._

Allowing the whirlpool to subside, the water mistress exerted her sonic wave once more. The sound pressed her three captives into the concrete of the street. When she was satisfied, she began to sing again, trying to mesmerize them with her lullaby. Danny covered his ears as he struggled to sit up. He glanced down to see the Guys in White lying beside him, eyes beginning to fog as the melody overwhelmed them.

"Hmph, call yourselves ghost hunters?" Danny remarked.

He turned invisible and flew around behind the siren, catching her off-guard when he grabbed her arms and held them together. She swung her tail at him in retaliation, no longer singing, but he avoided its impact.

The operatives recovered and got to their feet, firing their weapons. The mermaid was hit with the majority of the blast and was seriously weakened. Danny let her fall to the ground, and dashed in the direction of the government agents, preparing to punch them.

_After interviewing Danny's homeroom teacher, Mr. Lancer, and listening to the man list off all of Danny's misdemeanors from breaking the lab beakers and other school property, to consistent tardiness, to his dismal academic performance, Miller and Collins set themselves up in an empty classroom and called a few individual students down to talk with them. They chose students who Lancer had mentioned interacted the most with their suspect._

_Subject is fickle and moves from target to target easily and without commitment,  
__just as he moves from girl to girl._

"_He'd do anything for his girlfriend. Even eat mud… from the ground!" exclaimed Dash._

"_He's always hanging around with that Goth girl. But I know he has a crush on me," affirmed Paulina._

"_It's no secret that he likes Paulina," Kwan stated._

"_He likes Valerie," announced Starr. "I have no idea what she sees in him."_

Danny's punches missed. The operatives were back in action and used their anti-ghost restraints to act as a shield between themselves and Danny. The obstacles shocked the boy, throwing him backwards and into the edge of the school building. Danny landed with a thud on the ground. He leaned against the wall and he lifted his head heavily to face his opponents.

"Ok, so I'm half-ghost," Danny asserted. "But I'm _also_ human, _like you are_. Is it really necessary for you to go to all this trouble on my account?"

_He seems to show a bit of a split personality – sometimes acting aggressively towards Amity Park's  
__citizens, other times attempting to appear as a friend and saviour to the townsfolk. _

_Examples of the former include: His destruction of Axion Labs' Security System; his attack on Mayor  
__Montez; and his short crime spree of robbing museums and banks (likely his fickleness is to blame for  
__his quick boredom with this criminal expedition, as it became a task too easy for him and he ended it  
__shortly after it began). _

_Examples of the latter include: The end results of the Ghost King's attack on the city as Danny Phantom  
__sent the threat away and saved the town's population; also the resolution of the Christmas Incident as the  
__subject rounded up a number of ghosts to return the Christmas cheer to Amity Park's citizens (though this  
__does not excuse him causing the crisis in the first place)._

_This split personality is probably due to his genetic influences – the human half of him, which is barely  
__ever present, trying to guide him towards some sort of righteousness while the ghost half of him leads  
__him to evilness. But even in this case, the human half is not so innocent._

"We've got the ghost kid cornered," O declared. K stood next to his partner, leaning over the Ghost Boy, and staring down at him menacingly.

"Danny! RUN!"

It was Maddie Fenton. She fired a warning shot into the air as she hurried towards the scene.

"Don't touch him! He's my son!" yelled Jack, right alongside his wife as he rushed to save his boy from the government agents.

_He is good at blending into the background. _

Danny turned invisible and melted into the school wall.

_He does not draw attention to himself in his human form so as to have a more amusing time in his ghost form. _

"Where is he? What did you do with him?" Maddie demanded while pulling Operative O to the side so that she could see the empty wall. Jack grabbed onto Operative K and shunted him in the opposite direction.

"He got away!" announced K to O, Jack's hold on his jacket still strong.

Looking affronted, O replied to the Fentons, "We don't have your son, yet." And he removed Maddie's fingers from his shirt, brushing his hands over it afterwards to smooth it back to perfection.

"I'm right here, Mom," said Danny, reappearing behind her, and floating slightly above the ground.

"_Is that all of the students?" Miller inquired. _

_His partner shook his head. "There's just one left on the list: Valerie Gray… hm, she appears to be absent today. Never mind then – neither the family, nor the best friends mentioned her."_

_The FBI agents gathered their stuff and left the school promptly. Just as Miller was about to pull out of the parking lot, his cell phone went off. He shifted back to park and lifted the phone to his ear._

"Danny!" exclaimed Maddie at the same time as Jack bellowed, "Son!"

Danny held up a hand, his face neutral. "I'm fine, before you ask, though it has been a tough week. I just… knew I had to come back."

Before his parents could respond, Operative O stepped in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but the Ghost Boy needs to come with us. He's wanted for questioning and experiments… lots of—oof!"

K had elbowed his partner, glancing quickly at Mr. and Mrs. Fenton. "And this can't be delayed by your little reunion," he affirmed.

"What! How dare you…" began Maddie.

"Well you'd better just sit tight, because we're having our reunion whether you like it or not!" informed Jack while bringing K's face close to his in a threatening way, still gripping the man's jacket.

"And you aren't taking our son anywhere," Maddie declared.

K withdrew a small gun from his pocket and fired it into Jack's stomach. An ecto-net popped out of it and tangled up Jack's limbs, his hand finally releasing the operative.

"Jack!" cried Maddie.

"Hey!" shouted Danny. "Leave them alone!" And he charged forward with glowing fists.

"Danny! Wait!" his mother called.

The boy froze and turned back to face her, confusion evident in his expression.

"Let us handle this," she answered. "You don't need to get yourself in any more trouble right now – go somewhere safe and we'll talk to you later."

But before Danny even registered what she was telling him to do, the two operatives attacked him, K blasting him in the back and forcing him to fly right into O's ecto-net.

"No!" yelled all three Fentons.

"Well, if it's a fight that you want," Maddie started.

"It's a fight that you'll get!" finished Jack while breaking out of the tangle he was in.

Maddie leapt towards O, kicking the net which contained Danny out of his hands, as Jack tackled K.

"_Miller," he stated._

"_Operative K of the government division The Guys in White," announced the man on the other end._

"_Of course, I expected we'd be hearing from you," answered Miller. "What can I do you for?"_

"_We just wanted to inform you that we'll be traveling to Amity Park tomorrow to focus our search for the Ghost Boy. As I'm sure you are aware, we've been given the lead in the operation to find him."_

_Miller frowned but kept the sentiment out of his voice. "Yes. And we've been designated official profilers. Which reminds me, we'll be sending you our report as soon as we complete it. We're quite punctual and efficient over here at the FBI. You can expect it within the next couple of hours."_

"_I look forward to it," acknowledged K, equally refraining from breaking etiquette. "Would you like us to send you some of our notes and footage from our encounters with the boy?"_

_Glancing at his partner for a moment, Miller responded, "Sure. That would be useful to us. Thank you."_

"_No problem. Well, I suppose we should both get back to work. It was a pleasure talking with you."_

"_Same."_

"_The chumps known as the Guys in White?" asked Collins as Miller shifted back into drive. Miller nodded and turned onto the street._

Onto the street fell Danny, abandoned by his captor. His mother seemed to be in a tae kwon doe competition with Operative O, while his father was in a wrestling match against Operative K.

"You are interfering – _grunt_ – with a – _wheeze_ – government investigation!" gasped K in his struggle.

On cue, his partner continued, "You will incur jail time if you don't back down!"

"Then throw us in jail!" cried Maddie. "You aren't laying another hand on our son if I have anything to say about it!"

"Do your worst," Jack added.

On the sidelines, Danny burst out of his net and floated into the air. As he watched the exchange he considered what his parents were saying. Should he disappear again and meet up with them later? Should he allow them to go to jail for protecting him? They sure seemed dead-set on it… Should he stay and fight with them? Or face whatever it was the Guys in White wanted to do with him? This last option was the least appealing…

Replying to Jack and Maddie's proclamations, O advised, "Then you leave us no choice…"

_As the FBI agents sifted through all the information they gathered about the boy they became more and more alarmed, realizing what a dangerous individual Danny appeared to be. They hurried to put together a profile on him._

"_Madeline Fenton mentioned a few reasons for having never suspected that their son was half-ghost. They didn't believe it was possible, but more importantly, and something I think we should document, they'd seen both Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom at the _same time_." Collins put down the interview notes and continued. "That must be a trick of his ghost powers, and I didn't notice anywhere in the stuff the Guys in White sent us mention of this ability. Maybe we should add an appendix to our report listing all of Danny Phantom's known powers."_

"_Sounds like a good idea to me," said Miller who was sorting the copies of news reports they'd taken from the local station._

"_Imagine what these powers allow the kid to accomplish," reflected Collins. "It's too much power for a teenager with no sense of responsibility."_

Exposing their weapons, the Guys in White fired at Jack and Maddie, to subdue them. But the married couple reacted quickly and shot back with their own ectoguns. The government agents activated their jetpacks and hovered off of the ground to avoid being hit, while the Fentons used a portable ecto-shield to deflect the shots aimed at them.

Across the street the mermaid stirred. She lifted herself slowly to a sitting position, holding her head. Blinking, she remembered where she was and what she'd been doing. She saw her enemies next to the school and narrowed her eyes. Taking to the air once more, she issued a sonic wave that knocked the four adults onto the ground, faces down. Summoning a whirlpool, she caught them in its vortex and watched them spin. And with her anger, the whirlpool grew, beginning to consume most of the street and getting dangerously closer to tearing apart the school.

Danny, who'd floated his way up to the school's rooftop while the adults were duking it out and had still been contemplating his course of action, made his decision right then. He didn't even give it a second thought.

_He has those close to him charmed. He is a well-practiced liar, and is known for inventing excuses to cover up his escapades._

_HE IS A HIGHLY DANGEROUS INDIVIDUAL AND SHOULD BE ARRESTED IMMEDIATELY._

_Operative O lowered the report in his hands, having just read it aloud to his partner._

"_Is everything to your satisfaction?" Miller questioned over the speaker-phone. "We conducted interviews all day and put together the profile this evening, as it was on high priority…"_

"_Yes," replied K. "We appreciate your effort. It is well done."_

"_And you agree that we should remove the Fentons from their home to set up a stake-out for the boy?"_

"_We agree," asserted O. "We'll see you tomorrow afternoon."_

"_Till then," replied Miller._

_Hanging up, K commented, "I dislike them."_

"_As do I," confirmed O._

Diving off of the roof, Danny pelted towards the ghost.

"Hey, shark bait!" he hollered, demanding her attention. "Watch out for the undertow" – he grabbed her by the tail and dragged her away from the school – "it might surprise you if you swim too deep!" With that he released her and she crashed into the ground. He followed up his attack with a barrage of ectoblasts that she countered reflexively with her sonic wave. Her whirlpool subsided as she got involved in fighting Danny, and the four adults fell unceremoniously back onto the road.

The water mistress rose again and aimed for a direct attack on Danny, digging her claws into his shoulders once more. He struggled in her grasp and tried to push her away with energy blasts from his hands, but she stopped them using the hard scales on her fins. She unconsciously flew him back in the direction of the school.

Jack, Maddie, and the two government agents observed the battle from where they stood, glued to the spot. Danny had just saved them, but was now being tossed around like a cat's toy by the mermaid. She'd grab him, then throw him, hit him with her tail, and grab him again, in a fast sequence. The fourth time through this ritual, she brought his face close to hers and began to sing again, loud enough that he felt his mind starting to sway to the mesmerizing tune.

"Danny!" cried Maddie running forwards.

Her son blinked upon hearing her voice, but he couldn't escape the mermaid's melody and all too soon, he drifted off into a hypnotic state.

Jack fired at the ghost that was holding the boy, and the siren reluctantly released her prey. Danny fell to the ground with a thud and remained unconscious.

The commotion in the street that occurred over the following minute left Maddie and Jack in a daze. The news crews arrived moments ahead of the local police. Before either Fenton could rescue their son and carry him into their anxious and safe arms, the Guys in White jumped to their duty and attached restraints to Danny's wrists and ankles. And Maddie and Jack themselves were handcuffed by the police officers. The mermaid ghost had disappeared in the pandemonium.

Sam, Tucker, and Jazz watched on helplessly from their respective class rooms as their friend and his parents were taken away.

* * *

"14 year old Danny Fenton, known to many as Danny Phantom, the world's only human-ghost hybrid, has finally reappeared," announced the reporter on the 6:00 news. "A student of Casper High, Danny returned to school this morning late for class. After an encounter with a menacing ghost on the front steps, he left with representatives of a government branch for the paranormal known as the Guys in White. These representatives declined comment, but FBI agent, Robert Miller, assures the public that Danny is in good hands. The Guys in White will be doing some studies on the young half-ghost, and are well qualified to handle him. Miller confirms that we can all rest safely tonight." 

"In other news, the recent assembly of…"

He was alarmed. He certainly didn't expect _this_. Of course there was a possibility of it occurring, but he didn't think that Daniel would _actually_ be caught by them. For the second time in less than a week, everything Vlad had been thinking or doing had to change due to Daniel's predicaments. Vlad hated the unexpected. It left him feeling quite unprepared. Raising his hand to rub his chin in thought, Vlad stopped pacing around the room. Yes, this was a predicament indeed.

* * *

Valerie and Jazz had returned to the Grays' apartment after school in silence. Valerie had wanted to say something of consolation to Jazz, but the other girl had gone straight to the couch and begun working on her homework, giving off strong vibrations that she wanted to be left alone. Sighing, Valerie had gone to her room to do the same, but she couldn't concentrate. She kept thinking back to what she'd witnessed earlier. 

The Fentons were among Amity Park's ghost hunters who had an enmity with Danny Phantom in particular. Obviously after finding out he was their own son they'd feel differently about the ghost half of him. And today they showed their unconditional love for the boy above and beyond what Valerie had expected of them. Could Valerie forgive him for lying to her?

"_I'm fine, before you ask, though it has been a tough week. I just… knew I had to come back."_

Danny had said that to his parents and she'd heard it. What did it mean and why _did_ he return? Maybe the ghost part of him _was_ really the same person as the human part of him. He didn't seem at all evil when he was protecting his parents, and even when he fought off the mermaid ghost to save the lives of the Guys in White. Her thoughts kept arriving back at the same place: could she ever trust Danny again?

In the other room, Jazz had her computer on her lap, a pile of books on one side of her, her notes on the other side. She wasn't doing homework. She couldn't even focus on her studies the rest of the school day. She was upset and she was driven; her entire family was taken from her in front of her eyes and she would stop at nothing to get them back safely. Tucker had managed to hack through the security of the Guys in White's database and had sent her a few files he'd downloaded from it. She read through them a couple of times each and started to formulate a plan.

Suddenly remembering something, she stood up and tiptoed to Valerie's door. Her hostess was sitting at her desk, pouring over her schoolwork, and Jazz decided that it was now or never. Just as quietly as she'd approached Valerie's room, she left, heading towards Mr. Gray's room instead. She crept inside and turned on the computer. When it booted up she opened his email inbox to see if the Guys in White had sent any other messages for him. But the only new messages were from a "word of the day" site, and a weekly e-journal he'd subscribed to.

"Find something interesting?" asked Valerie, causing Jazz to yelp and jump up startled. The redhead turned around nervously to face Valerie's unimpressed expression.

"Um…" gulped Jazz. _How the heck am I going to explain this?_ "Valerie… hi… I was, uh…"

Valerie was comfortably leaning against the door frame, her arms folded across her chest, waiting to hear what Jazz had to say.

Jazz sighed. "Look, Valerie, after what happened today I've become desperate. I want to get my parents and my brother back as soon as possible. The longer Danny's with the Guys in White, the worse it'll be for him. They've been given permission to do any tests on him that they want to do, and knowing the Guys in White, that's not a good thing. I overheard your dad talking on the phone with them the other day, and I was wondering if he'd heard from them again… which is why I'm on his computer. I know this doesn't excuse my actions, and I don't blame you if you decide to tell your dad and have me moved to foster care. But just so you know, I really do appreciate everything that you've done for me."

Valerie straightened up, her neutral face not giving away her thoughts. Well, this was certainly something she hadn't expected. In a split moment, all of the emotional turmoil she'd been going through since Monday transformed into a determined desire to do what she felt now was the right thing. She looked her guest in the eye and said, "Can I help?"

"What?" asked Jazz in disbelief.

"I want to help," Val repeated. "I know that we've never gotten to know each other and that you have no reason to trust me, but Danny's a friend of mine and, as you said, he's in trouble. What can I do?"

Jazz's face brightened at this. She shut the computer off and headed towards the door. "This is great!" she announced. "Your ghost hunting equipment could be very useful!"

Val paused on the way back to her room. _So Jazz knew about that… which meant that Tucker and Sam probably did too. Well that certainly explained some things._

"Come on!" said Jazz excitedly, grabbing Valerie's wrist and dragging her to her computer which she'd left on the couch. "I've got a plan, and now with you involved, it just got better!"

* * *

His side was aching, and he felt like he was in an awkward position. Sort of like he was limply hanging on an angle. He tried to move but found that his arms and legs were stuck, as if they'd been bound. Or maybe he just didn't have the energy. 

The moment Danny finally opened his eyes, he wished he hadn't, crying out, "NOOO!"

* * *

-(o)-

GLE – oh, I'm evil! Heh, I think I've been letting you guys get away with so many not-so-cliffie cliffhangers, but now you have a real one! Hee, enjoy!

So, 5 more chapters to go, more action, drama, etc, etc. I'm surprised how long this chapter turned out to be, but I like the results. Oh ya, speaking of results, you guys are absolutely fantastic! Last I checked, I have 93 alerts for this story, and 50 faves, not to mention 86 reviews! O.O So, as a special treat, I've decided that the 100th reviewer can get a little preview to future chapters of this story (I'm gonna put together a sort of "preview package" with lines or something that I'm planning to have in the second half of this story, laid out like a movie trailer, and hopefully not too revealing). (but if the 100th reviewer is anonymous, the prize will go to the 101st reviewer, and so on until there is a logged in reviewer to whom I can reply… Esme is exempt, since she already knows what's going to happen… and thanks for beta-ing part of this chapter, girl!).

As for when the next chapter is coming out, I don't want to make any promises this time. My summer plans (yes, end of term means beginning of summer) are still trying to solidify themselves, and while I have a couple of weeks right now, they could easily be filled up once I figure out precisely what I'm doing. I am happy to announce that I've discovered exactly what I'm passionate about in life, and now I just have to find a way to make it work for me (I love, above all things that I could do, composing music… I have no idea where this leaves swimming, but for now, I'm just going with the flow of what feels right in my heart). One thing I do know about the summer: my sister (Fey Phantom) and I are determined to go to the rally in NYC! Danny Phantom, The Series and every episode in it, _absolutely_ ROCKS and there's so much more story that can be told! I'm gonna do my best to get this show back into production!

So, till next time!

-)Golden Lunar Eclipse(-


	7. Breaking Point

GLE – One year ago today, I last updated this story. Ha, ha, made you guys wait, didn't I? Eheh, I should probably stop with my humour; some rabid fangirl might sic a butcher's knife on me or something, eh? Actually, it'd be funnier if it were a fanboi – we don't get to hear about them as often...

Heh, anyways, yes, this is an update! And it is by far the longest chapter I've ever written. It's over 8000 words! I don't think I've ever written an essay that long! Oh, and speaking of essays... I never have to write an essay again! I finished my last one recently, finished all my exams and projects, and now I'm graduating! Whee! Heh, but I'll chatter more about my life later. Go on and read it – I know you've been waiting long enough for it!

-(o)-

Do Superheroes Exist?

Chapter 7: Breaking Point

"It's quite simple, really, let the Guys in White do whatever they want with him." Laughing, the man added, "Of course, that is to say, with the exception of killing him. They're bound to discover some interesting things about the boy. And then we can take their research and apply it to better use… for the greater good of our nation!"

"Ha!" replied a woman in a black suit. "Yeah right… since when have you ever even _thought_ of doing something good for this country? Oh, I know, somewhere around elections and promotions time. But I agree with you. The power we'll obtain in this… We could be unstoppable!"

"And as long as we're all on the same page," another man addressed the two. "This could be one of the best operations each of our departments has put together in a while."

The woman nodded, her smile slightly lopsided. The other man, balding and dressed in highly decorated military attire, gave a curt nod of agreement.

"Well, I don't know about you," said the woman. "But, I'd like to see how the Guys in White are doing. Shall we?"

And without waiting for a response, she hopped off the mahogany desk she'd been sitting on, walked around it to the other side, and pulled a remote control from the drawer. The desk was very tidy, with a couple pads of paper piled neatly in one corner next to a pen holder that held two pens. A phone sat on the other edge. The office itself was quite large, and was currently dimly lit since all the shades were drawn. On the door was engraved the name "Elizabeth Medley."

The woman pressed a button on the remote and a board in the wall behind the desk shifted to the side, revealing a large tv screen, and three smaller ones stacked vertically next to it.

The man with dark hair let loose a low whistle. "You CIA people have it nice, doncha?"

The woman smirked, lopsidedly, and commented, "Heh, you're one to talk, Mr. Director of the FBI! Don't think that I don't know what's in your office!"

"Touché," answered the man, Bob Mullen, bowing his head.

"And if you're thinking of adding your own opinion, General Pierfort, don't bother – I've seen your cars," she stated to the balding man lightheartedly.

"I wasn't going to," the General said with ease.

Ms. Medley stood a moment longer, smiling in small triumph before returning to the screen. "Well, gentlemen, as you may or may not know, some people in my department have infiltrated the Guys in White to keep an eye on them. So, we have front row seats to the experiments being done on the boy, and the Guys in White are none the wiser."

She pushed a button and the large screen flickered to life and opened to a downward view of a medical room. Bound and lying on a table in the center was the half-ghost teen, still in his ghost form. There were wires attached to him trailing across the floor to machines on the outskirts of the room. A couple of men in white lab coats and health masks were reading the electronic monitors and taking notes. The boy stirred, opening his eyes slowly. When they'd completely opened, his face suddenly contorted into a shocked expression and he screamed out, "NOOO!"

The men in the room startled and looked towards their subject. One of them turned back to the monitor in front of him and began to scribble again furtively. The other walked over to the door and pressed a button on the wall.

"Yes?" crackled a voice through the intercom.

"He's awake," replied the man.

Danny strained his eyes to see the man on the edge of his vision. He couldn't move his head because it was bound to the slanted table that he was lying on. His heart rate was slowing down to normal again, but his initial shock still left him twitching a little. He'd been having a nightmare and awoke to see several sharp instruments dangling above him, on the same metallic arm as the bright light that forced him to squint. He realized that he must be in some sort of hospital, based on the types of tools hanging there, and that perhaps he was… in surgery?

What happened? Where was he? What was the last thing he could remember? His identity was revealed… Dani… Vlad… flying back to Amity Park… going to school… the mermaid ghost… _the mermaid ghost_! The Guys in White and his parents had been caught by her and he wanted to save them. She was angry and he got beat up… and then her song carried him into a troubled daze… he couldn't do anything to stop it, disturbing images filled his mind and took him away… and then he woke up here.

"My parents…" he mumbled out loud.

"What was that?" said a voice as the door to the room closed. The newcomer approached Danny and stood in his line of vision.

"Are my parents alright?" asked Danny while struggling to sit up. It was no use – either the restraints or his own lack of energy kept him frozen to the table.

The newcomer smiled, though his eyes glinted coldly. "Everyone's fine, you have nothing to worry about. Your only focus should be on the experiments we're going to be doing together."

Danny stared at him, but only the first couple of words had reached his mind. _Everyone's fine_… well that was good news, even if it meant that the Guys in White chumps weren't as beaten up as he had hoped… the Guys in White… _this_ guy was wearing a lot of white…

"Oh where are my manners?" said the man before him. "My name is Dr. T. I'm with the research division of the Guys in White. I believe you're acquainted with the field operatives, K and O?"

Danny narrowed his eyes involuntarily. He felt uneasy in this guy's presence. Dr. T seemed to be chatting airily, but his aura was giving off a menacing vibration. Danny was sure he would not like this man. In fact, he was fairly certain that he would not like anything about this place… speaking of which…

"Where am I?" he demanded.

"Right to the point, aren't we? My, you're rather tactless, however, I will answer your question." Dr. T took a step back and opened his arms to the space around him. "We are at the Guys in White Central Headquarters. This is the Research Laboratories, and it will be your residence for quite some time. There are anti-ghost shields on the outer wall of the building, as well as on the fence surrounding the building. Those second ones extend to cover a radius of 20m above and 20m below the ground. There are cameras in every room and every hallway, and several out on the grounds around the complex. The fence has barbed wire on top and electricity running through it. Your room, which you'll be brought to later, has a thick metallic and bullet-proof door, no windows, and of course, a ghost shield running through the walls and floor and ceiling. A high-security code will be placed on the outside to open the door, and an alarm will sound if your thermal imprint disappears from the sensors of the room.

"You should also be aware that we've taken the liberty of attaching a collar to your neck that you cannot phase through and you cannot remove with your hands. I'd tell you what the point of it is, but that would take away all the fun… Any questions?"

"No." Danny eyed the man defiantly. _In other words_, he thought, _there's no way for me to escape, is there?_

"Good. Well, now that you're awake, I think it's best if you returned to your human form and I can catch you up on the schedule for today. Inject him with the serum."

One of the men in lab coats stepped to Danny's side and pierced his left forearm with a needle. Danny felt a warm sensation spread from the point of contact through his veins and to the rest of his body. The warmth was getting uncomfortably hot, and suddenly it felt as if his entire body was burning. He detransformed without thinking about it, and was relieved to feel a coolness come over him as he did so.

"Amazing," Dr. T marveled delightedly. He stared a moment longer then turned abruptly to the other men in the room, "You got recordings on that? Good!"

Danny winced in disgust. _Of course_, he thought, _I'm just a lab rat to them_.

"Now, we've got a lot of work to do, so I'll make this brief. We're going to be administering ability tests and structure tests on you, as well as asking you a number of ghost-related questions. The ability tests should push you to your physical limits, while the structure tests investigate your biology. There should be no need for me to say this, but, you will do what we ask of you."

Danny scoffed, "You sure none of this will violate my Human Rights?"

"Ah, but you see, that doesn't apply to you," replied Dr. T in a cheerful tone.

"What the heck are you talking about?" said Danny, alarmed. "I'm human!"

"No," Dr. T said grinning. "You're only half. In other words, you are a hybrid – something completely different. In any case, you can't get out of here and only Guys in White personnel can get in. You belong to us now and no one is going to do anything to change this. The rest of the government is on our side."

"I won't do what you ask me to do."

"You will," stated Dr. T calmly. "I could sit here and just keep the torture to physical, but I'm not that kind of man. Did I forget to mention that your parents spent the night in jail?"

"What?" Danny exclaimed. "I thought you said they were ok!"

"They are; physically they are in good condition, minus a few scratches and bruises from their encounter with the ghost yesterday. They're being charged with obstruction of justice and possession of confiscated weapons. I could arrange the addition of 'terrorist threat' to that list."

"Wh-what?" stammered Danny.

"For creating you," answered Dr. T simply. "It wouldn't be too hard to believe, especially since I have credentials to back up my word, if I were to inform the CIA that your parents created you as a prototype weapon. Since you are still growing as a living being in adolescence and as a threat in ghost power, they had you present a friendly face to the community, waiting until you had developed enough for the moment to strike. And to dissuade people from believing they were connected to you, they would pretend to be some of the ghost hunters who were after you and who didn't know of your human half. Even if the CIA uncovered the truth of this lie, it would be well after they've hauled your parents in for questioning. You may not see them for years… or ever again."

Danny was outraged. That was a low blow – using his parents like this. Danny was really beginning to hate the man before him, and based on the potential 'testing of limits' or whatever the experiments were going to be, he expected this feeling to only intensify further.

"I can see by your expression that you understand the situation perfectly. So, we have your cooperation?"

His eyes downcast, the anger still carved into his features, Danny didn't reply. But it was good enough for Dr. T.

* * *

The sun had crept in through a crack in her curtains that had earlier been torn open by her parents in a cheery manner. Of course, Sam had closed them again as soon as they were out of her room, but she only did so half-heartedly, and the sliver of light that was creeping across her floor was a testament to this. Sam sighed and got off her bed. It was still early in the morning and she couldn't fall back asleep. Time to start a new day.

Jazz was planning something for today, but Sam, not in school on the weekend, was once more under house arrest. Annoyingly, her parents had already gone out, though she wasn't sure what could have gotten them to leave at this time. Well, at least with them out of the way, her chance of a successful escape was higher. The meeting place was to be at Valerie's, all the way across town, in the slums. Apparently the girl, who had considered Danny Phantom to be her enemy for the longest time, had decided to help Team Phantom out.

Sam walked over to the window, intending to take a look outside, when a ghostly figure flew through it and startled her.

"Gah!" she exclaimed.

"Oof!" said the figure, running full speed into her.

Sitting up, Sam questioned, "Dani?"

"Hi!" said the little girl, smiling and standing up.

"What are you doing here? Wait a second, how did you find me?"

The female halfa grinned. "I dropped by Casper High this morning and took a look at your records… You're doing _really_ well in Phys. Ed.!"

Sam returned the younger girl's enthusiasm with a blank expression, stunned.

"Anyways, I got your home address from that," continued Dani. "I came to you 'cause I know Danny likes you and I figured you'd be doing something to save him. I wasn't able to do much to help him a few days ago, but maybe I can do something now."

Sam's brief blush was instantly replaced with alertness. "Wait, Danny was with you? When? What happened? How was he?"

"Woah, what's with the twenty questions all of a sudden?"

Sam stood up and walked over to her bed, leaning herself against it. Sighing she asked more calmly, "When did you see Danny?"

"Wednesday. Actually, I came and got him on Tuesday night and we flew to my place in Wisconsin…" Dani recounted her interactions with Danny to Sam up to the point that he disappeared. "I found out from the Box Ghost yesterday that Danny went back to Amity Park, so I came here as quickly as I could to try and stop him from doing anything stupid… but I was too late, obviously."

Sam's attitude towards Danielle softened a bit. She wasn't ready to completely trust the mischief-maker and fully planned to keep a careful eye on her, but she felt that Dani's desire to help Danny was honest. Maybe Dani could be of use…?

A spark shot through Sam's mind, and she jumped up so suddenly that Dani fell back with a yelp of surprise.

"Warn me when you're going to do that!" said Dani. "What is it?"

"You _can_ help!" answered Sam, reaching forward and taking Dani's left hand. "Turn us invisible and let's get out of here! I'll give you directions on the way."

* * *

"Aw, Jazz, why'd you have to hold this meeting now?" whined Tucker as he walked into the apartment. "I'm missing my Saturday morning cartoons! Fairly OddParents is nearly over, and it's almost nine o'clock, Da—"

"Ah, quit your complaining! We're rescuing Danny, remember!" Valerie scolded. "And keep your voice down. My dad's sleeping."

Tucker fell silent and followed the girls to Valerie's room. He took the chair at Valerie's desk while Valerie shut the door and leaned against it and Jazz sat on Valerie's bed, lifting her computer to her lap.

"Danny being caught changes things," announced Jazz unnecessarily. "But, luckily we've already hacked through the security system of the Guys in White."

"We know," interrupted Valerie in a tired voice. "You've been going over this all night."

"Sorry," said Jazz quickly. "I guess I'm just nervous."

"Nervous?" repeated Tucker. "About what?"

"I don't know," Jazz admitted. "Maybe about making a mistake. We _are_ attempting to save Danny, after all. It's easier said than done."

"You finished the plan?" asked Valerie.

"Almost. I want everyone's input on it. Speaking of which, where's Sam? I thought she was going to come with you," she said indicating Tucker.

Tucker shook his head. "Her parents have grounded her again. She texted me about an hour ago saying she would try to get out but makes no promises."

Jazz sighed. _Was it too much to hope for things to run smoothly?_ She looked away from her computer and out the window. The sun was rising steadily over the horizon. _Was Danny ok? What were they doing to him now? Could they really succeed and save him?_

There was a black spot above the buildings and Jazz suddenly realized that it was growing bigger. _Danny? No it couldn't be… Another ghost? An attack?_

"Guys…" she said uneasily.

Her companions blinked. "What?"

They didn't have to wait long for an answer. Dani and Sam arrived within a few moments. Jazz relaxed and backed away to let them enter through the window.

"We made it!" exclaimed Sam, and turning to the younger girl she expressed, "Thanks!"

Dani smiled and looked around the room. "Hey Tucker! Long time no see!"

"Y-yeah," responded Tucker, surprised by the extra guest. "How're you doing?"

"Sam, who is this?" asked Jazz, staring at the miniature of her brother, perplexed.

"It's Dani, with an 'i'," answered Danielle cheerfully while extending her hand. "Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too," Jazz replied tentatively, shaking the small hand. Unsure, she uttered, "I'm Jazz."

"She's Danny's cousin… kind of," informed Sam. "Actually, she's his clone."

"You're a half-ghost?" inquired Valerie from her spot against the door.

"Yep!" Dani declared.

"How many of you are there?" wondered Valerie. Sam exchanged a look with Tucker while Dani's smile faltered.

"There are three," Sam answered stiffly.

Valerie was taken aback by the shift in atmosphere. _Woah, what's with the chill all of a sudden? Guess the third one's someone they don't get along with. Hmm, even Jazz seems to know about him or her. Well, if I'm going to be a part of this team, I should know too, right?_ "Another clone?" she ventured.

"No," said Dani, shaking her head. "He's my… he's the one who created me. He's stronger than both me and Danny, and he's been a halfa for a lot longer than either of us."

"We don't get along with him," supplied Jazz.

"Who _could_ get along with that lunatic?" stated Sam dryly, then realizing something, she stopped talking.

"It's Vlad," enlightened Tucker.

"Vlad _Masters_?" Valerie exclaimed.

"Do you know any other Vlads?" asked Sam.

"Yes, Vlad Masters," answered Jazz, giving Sam a reproving look. "He goes by the name 'Vlad Plasmius' as a ghost. Some people know him to be the 'Wisconsin Ghost'."

Valerie stared around the room. They weren't joking. She felt almost as shocked by this as she had when she found out that Danny was a half-ghost. _Danny_… they were gathered here for him. Deciding to deal with her thoughts on Vlad later, she closed her eyes and opened them again, smiling warmly. "We should get back to work," she declared. "I'm Valerie, by the way," she added towards Dani.

"Oh, nice to meet you," said Dani and she took a seat next to Sam on Jazz's air mattress. Jazz was still sitting on the bed, Tucker was on the chair, and Valerie remained leaning against the door.

"As most of you know, I finished hacking through the Guys in White's system yesterday," Tucker stated, starting off the discussion and picking up the PDA he'd given Jazz. "I downloaded anything I thought was relevant. Did you know that they'd already planned for months of testing on Danny before they caught him? We've gotta get him out of there, and soon. I mean, they'll be pushing him to his limits, _every day_, submitting him to extreme temperatures, seeing how long he can go without food, without sleep! They're going to–"

"Stop!" Jazz asserted. "That's horrible! I don't want to hear any more, let's just get him out of there as soon as possible!"

"So, what's the plan?" asked Valerie.

"I've looked over the layouts of the lab buildings where he's being held several times and I think our best bet is to break in on the East side. One of the outer walls runs near a bit of forest, so we might be able to keep our cover. We'll have to do it quickly. We should do it at night, but we need enough time to come back – not all of us can stay with Danny. A big group is likely to attract attention, so afterwards…" Jazz paused, closing her eyes as if making up her mind. "Sam. You and Tucker are going to stay with him. We'll return here as if nothing happened. You two are probably the best support he can get. Are you ok with that?"

"Yes," replied Sam with conviction. "Absolutely."

"Count me in," agreed Tucker.

"Ok, well, not to get ahead of myself, we still need to figure out exactly how we're going to rescue him," continued Jazz. "The first barrier is one of the biggest obstacles. It's a fence that keeps out both humans _and_ ghosts. And since they now have Danny inside, they've probably made sure that the ghost shield portion is activated and running smoothly. If we can get through there, I think we'll be able to get to Danny. I've pretty much planned the rest of the rescue; it's just the first wall that needs to be dealt with. We need to get through it without drawing any attention to ourselves and we should probably try not to leave any evidence behind. Any ideas?"

"Hey, since Dani's here, we can use her ghost powers, right?" suggested Tucker. "She could fly us over the fence and drop us through the shield, then detransform and fall through the shield herself."

"You were the one who sent me the blueprints," said Jazz. "That's a bit of a fall, remember? Plus, I think we'd be spotted really quickly. Dani can't use invisibility while going through a ghost shield."

"How about a blackout?" Dani proposed. "Tucker's good with technology, right? He could cut the power to the entire facility, and we could get Danny out of there in the confusion."

"That's too risky," answered Jazz. "It could draw a lot of attention to us. Plus, they'll be on their extra guard if something suspicious like that happens, and they'll keep Danny under closer surveillance. We need to get in there without raising any alarms."

"Didn't you say something about my ghost gear last night?" asked Valerie.

"Oh right. I was thinking that you could use your ectoguns to disrupt the energy field of the ghost shield, leaving just enough space for a person to pass through. But the fence is still there, so that won't work," said Jazz, dismissing the idea automatically since she'd already passed on it during her night time thoughts.

"Hello?" Dani piped up again, waving her right hand. "I came here with Sam a little while ago, remember me?"

Jazz met Danielle's eyes. "Yes," she said, stumped. "Yes… yes! That's brilliant! _Both_ of you will get us through the obstacle!"

"Dani and Valerie?" confirmed Sam. "Yeah, that could work!"

"Tucker, you definitely broke the high security code?" inquired Jazz.

"Ya, I'm sure of it," he answered.

"Great!" Jazz exclaimed. "Then it's settled. We're breaking Danny out of there tonight!"

She leaned forwards, extending her hand to the two girls on the air mattress. Dani immediately placed her hand on top of Jazz's. Sam hesitated, then placed her hand on Dani's. Tucker and Valerie left their posts to join in.

"Let's do this!"

* * *

A couple of chumps in stark white lab coats hovered in the corner. Dr. T was not present, trusting all the work to his underlings while he attended to business elsewhere. Danny didn't mind. The last he'd seen of the guy was when he'd been hooked up to machines of all sorts for analyzing his structure and vitals. When leaving, the man had said, "Just you wait, the fun hasn't even begun yet."

Danny frowned. The structure tests hadn't been painful apart from the little pricks of needles into his skin. He had no doubt of the doctor's words, though "fun" wasn't the term he'd give it. He closed his eyes, willing himself not to break. The Guys in White had already gotten him started on the ability tests and it wasn't even midday. So far, he'd only really had to demonstrate a set of abilities – flying, intangibility, invisibility, strength, ectoshields, and ectoblasts – in both his ghost form and his human form (he failed miserably at the strength test in his human form and his arms were still aching).

Danny had discovered the purpose of the collar on his neck rather quickly. Apparently sarcasm wasn't appreciated in the lab. Whenever he talked back or refused to do what was asked of him, one of the scientists would activate his collar which crackled with a small voltage of electricity, shocking him painfully. Danny felt strong enough to resist it now, but how long would he have to be here for? He'd heard someone mention the need to repeat the tests over a month for more accurate results.

Moments ago, he'd been subjected to the first testing of limits. It was for ectoblasts. They wanted to see how fast he could shoot them off consecutively. To "motivate" him, they had a machine send out quick, little surges of imitated ectoblasts that he had to stop by matching them with his own ectoblasts. The rate at which the machine fired increased every ten seconds and eventually it overcame Danny. The blasts knocked him off his feet and he landed, winded, on his back.

The others in the room gathered together in the corner to compare notes and check on the machine. Danny sat up frowning.

They ordered him to repeat the test a few more times.

"Good," said the man farthest from Danny. "Well, it's a start anyways. Phantom, get up. We're leaving the room now, but we'll be observing you from behind the glass. You're to aim at the target against the wall and fire the strongest ectoblast that you can produce. You may fire in one continuous stream or in a short burst, whichever suits you best. Don't worry about destroying the wall; it has been magnetized to absorb a large amount of intense energy and will not be damaged."

"Heh, so I'll just imagine I'm blasting yours or Dr. T's face?" Danny joked without thinking.

The collar was turned on before he knew it and he fell to his knees. His voice caught in his throat and his hands automatically clasped around his neck despite being burnt by the collar. His eyes shut tight trying to block out the pain and his jaw clenched.

"I w-was only k-kidding," he gasped when it was over. He let his stinging hands drop to the cold floor. He blinked stray tears out of his eyes, and stood up. Lifting his head, he stared at the man who'd pressed the button that set off the collar, his determination visible in a chilling green. "Ok, let's get this over with."

Once the Guys in White had departed, Danny pivoted to face the target and prepared himself. _Just get it over with, just get it over with_. He felt his energy build before it manifested itself physically into a ball of light. He held the ball over his head then threw it towards the wall as if he were playing a serious game of dodge-ball. He let the stream of energy continue, forcing all he had into the blast for a few seconds longer, then releasing the shot and dropping his arms. _There's your ectoblast, happy?_ He couldn't see through the glass, it appeared to be a mirror from this side, but he knew they were there. He waited for further instructions.

"Do it again, Phantom," a voice commanded through the speakers.

After the fifth time, Danny felt wiped out. He wanted a break but he knew better than to ask for one. _Push to the limits, huh?_ He smiled sadly trying to imagine himself elsewhere. His arms were shaking involuntarily.

"Ok, we're ready. Give us another one."

Danny glanced towards the glass and caught his own reflection for a brief moment. He was a mess – hair untidy, some scrapes and torn clothing, a bruise forming on his left cheek, small blood stains on the white part of his suit that he couldn't remember where they'd come from…

He lifted his hands, forming the ball, but before it was complete, a different voice ordered him to stop.

"It's time we had a little chat," Dr. T told Danny. "Take a break for now and come with me." The man appeared at the door and held it open. Two other operatives showed up to guide Danny from the room, down the corridor and into a smaller room. It was almost empty except for a couple of chairs and a table.

"Thank you, S and P," stated Dr. T. "Please leave us alone."

The two men looked at each other quizzically for an instant but quickly decided to follow orders and left the room without a word.

"Sit," said the doctor. Danny complied doing his best to disguise his contempt. Dr. T grinned knowingly and injected Danny once more with the serum. Danny detransformed before the warmth had time to burn. _You could have warned me!_ he thought.

"So, how are you finding your first day here?" questioned the doctor. He took his seat opposite Danny.

"Is that supposed to be a joke?" asked Danny.

"Do you expect to get it this easy all the time?" Dr. T retorted. "I decided to go lightly on you today. The real testing begins tomorrow."

_Figures_, Danny thought. _I really need to find a way out of here if I can. The sooner, the better,_ he added mentally, though only half-heartedly. It was probably a futile thought.

"I can see you're not interested in the small talk, so let's get right down to it. We are going to have you on a strict schedule every day. You will get half an hour for meals. You will get a nap in the afternoon; you'll probably need it. Most of the structure tests will be conducted after we wake you in the mornings and before you go to sleep at night. Plus we'll be monitoring your brainwaves and other vitals whenever you sleep for at least a month – we'll do this in your human form for this month, your ghost form for next. Ability tests will take up most of your days and we'll be repeating them often on a rotating schedule of focus. We'll spend some time together in the afternoons discussing ghosts and ghost-related matters, as we will be doing now."

"What do you want to know?" asked Danny in a flat tone.

"Everything," replied Dr. T, smiling coldly. "Many of my colleagues believe to be experts on ghosts, but I know that I fall nowhere near the classification of 'expert' next to you. So let's begin at the beginning. How did you become a half-ghost?"

"I walked into my parents' unfinished ghost portal and accidentally turned it on. Got shocked, woke up with powers," shrugged Danny unenthusiastically.

"Why do you think you survived the shock? Have you ever wondered why you didn't die?"

Danny blinked. "No," he said uncertainly. "I don't think I ever thought about that. Guess I was lucky? Why do you want to know that anyways?"

There was a malevolent glint in the man's eyes, but he ignored Danny's question, and continued with his own agenda.

"Have you ever been to the Ghost Zone?"

_If I say 'no', will that cut down on the number of questions?_ wondered Danny. Meeting the man's gaze he realized that Dr. T already knew the answer. Defeated, Danny stated, "Yes." And the barrage continued.

* * *

The knock at the door startled them.

"Valerie?"

It was Damon Gray.

"Just a moment!" responded Valerie turning to the others and gesturing at them to hide.

Dani pulled Tucker onto the air mattress and held both his and Sam's hands, and the three of them disappeared. Jazz put her computer onto Valerie's night table. Valerie opened the door.

"Yes?"

"I was just wondering what you two were up to. I always find it hard to sleep much past noon, even though I'm on the graveyard shift again tonight."

"We were watching a movie on my computer," said Jazz from the bed. "It just finished."

"Ah. Well, do you want lunch? I was thinking of making some hotdogs."

"No, thank you," replied Valerie. "Tucker invited us over for lunch, so we'll be going soon."

"Alright," said Damon. "Well I'm just glad to see that you're getting along. I'll be leaving for work at 10:30. Be back by then."

"Actually, Dad, Tucker invited us to join him and Sam at a poetry reading tonight."

"Oh, ok. Just don't stay out too late. And don't leave all your homework until tomorrow."

"We won't," smiled Valerie kissing her dad on his cheek. "Try to get some more rest before leaving tonight."

She remained silent even after the door closed behind her and her three invisible guests reappeared. With a finger to her lips she whispered, "Pack up."

Ten minutes later, Valerie and Jazz said goodbye to Damon and left the apartment. They rejoined Sam, Tucker, and Dani in Jazz's car.

"Don't say a word," Valerie warned Tucker, who was trying hard to contain his laughter.

"I seriously wonder why your dad continues to believe you!" he snickered. "Poetry reading!"

"Not another word!" said Valerie punching Tucker lightly on his shoulder.

Jazz started up the car and pulled onto the street. "I'm running a bit low on gas. I'll need to make a stop before we leave the city."

* * *

Danny had never answered so many questions about ghosts honestly in his life. It was a weird feeling, but was there any point in keeping it secret? Despite that, he tried his best to keep the information to a minimal. He didn't trust the doctor and didn't like helping him in his education of what real ghosts were like. Plus the questions that probed his psychological state were uncomfortable, to say the least. But Dr. T was pretty good at seeing through him, and Danny was getting more and more agitated.

"Are you the strongest ghost of them all? Or is there one that is stronger than you?"

_No way, I'm not gonna tell you about that._

Danny didn't reply.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot about the 'Ghost King' incident. But that was a one time thing, was it not? So there is more than one ghost who is stronger than you, correct?"

Danny stood abruptly, scraping his chair on the floor. "Look, we're done here. I'm _not_ answering any more questions. Just – just send me to my cell."

Danny fell back onto his chair, but it toppled to the side and he landed on the floor on all fours. He'd hit his right elbow on the table on the way down, but that pain was nothing to the burning emitted from his neck down into his chest and up into his temples.

"I should have warned you – the collar shock takes a bigger toll on your human form," informed Dr. T, while relieving Danny from the punishment. "You'd do best to be in good behaviour particularly when in that mode. Fine, we'll end here for now. Get up. I'll walk you to your room. Lunch will be brought to you shortly."

Danny wavered a little as he stood, but he would not give in. He trailed the doctor quietly.

"Danny, I'll let you in on a secret," said Dr. T conversationally. "You are very valuable, not only to the research of the Guys in White, but to the future of our nation. Imagine what we could learn from you."

"…Where are you going with this?" asked Danny after a moment. They'd arrived at his 'room'. Danny entered it slowly.

"Science would _love_ to duplicate your mistake," responded Dr. T in a hushed yet excited voice.

"No! You can't do that!" yelled Danny turning to face the door as it slammed shut. "Wait… Listen to me!" he cried desperately. "Ghost powers affect everyone differently!" He pounded on the door in vain. "What you're doing isn't just horrible, it's dangerous!"

* * *

Maddie and Jack were in City Hall. It didn't help that their hotel room had been searched and even more weapons had been found. However, they were released from jail that morning, though they were not to leave the state and they had to wait for trial. They stayed in City Hall, determined to clear their names as soon as possible, but more importantly, to try to appeal to the law for the freedom of their son.

They'd recognized the sound of a crowd nearby since early that morning, but only in the last half hour had it become a real commotion. They weren't quite sure what was going on, but they remained fixed to their spots.

Outside, people were yelling, little scuffles developed here and there, and there were signs thrust into the air above all heads. Chanting from various groups of people created a confusing chorus of sound.

"Free the ghost we love the most! Free the ghost we love the most!"

"Free Phantom!"

"Lock him up forever! No more ghosts!"

"Down with Danny!"

"Keep him away from our children!"

"Save Danny Fenton! Destroy the ghost!"

"I'm on the scene at City Hall where two protests over the town's young half-ghost are taking place," said Lance Thunder holding a microphone bearing the number four. "What do you have to say about the matter?" he asked a woman in the crowd who seemed to be leading one side of the charge.

"Danny Phantom is a menace to society!" said Pam Manson. "I would know better than anyone! He is best friends with my daughter and has had a terrible influence over her! She had never been so rebellious until she started to bring him over. He needs to be kept up far away from her so that she can recover from his manipulation. Ghosts are dangerous monsters who've destroyed this town over and over again, and he is no exception! He's more like one of them than one of us!"

"That's not true!" butted in Dash.

"That's totally not true!" agreed Paulina. "Danny is a hero! He gives hope to da people of this town, especially of Casper High."

"He's the most self- …uh, self-" stuttered Dash.

"He's the most selfless kid you'll ever meet," finished Kwan.

The group around the teens began to cheer. Among them included most of Danny's classmates. Mikey, and even Starr, had come to support Danny.

In front of another camera on a different side of the crowd stood a female reporter. "Several protesters have gathered around Amity Park's City Hall in light of the recent resurfacing of Danny Phantom. It appears that the first protesters to arrive were those upset the most that their beloved ghost is no longer around to protect them. On the other extreme, people who believe the boy to be a threat to all are demanding his permanent imprisonment. And there are a vast number of opinions ranged between these two conflicting sides. This is Shelly Makamoto, reporting for Channel 7 News. Bill?"

"And… cut! Ok, take ten, people!"

The cameraman put down his camera and left it with the sound guy, wandering off to flirt with the new intern they got as a camera person at Channel 4. Shelly headed towards the temporary media tent where most news castors were hanging out. She was joined by Lance on her way there.

"Can you believe it all?" exclaimed Shelly entering the tent with him and heading for the cappuccino machine.

"Yah, like, I know!" Tiffany Snow agreed airily while joining her.

"Hm?" mumbled Lance, realizing that he'd been spoken to. "Ah, who cares? How do I look? Teeth sparkling?"

"Ugh…" muttered Harriet Chin.

Shelly smiled at her. "You stole the word straight from my mouth."

* * *

"Still reviewing the tapes?"

"Affirmative," replied operative K to his partner, O. "The analysis is almost complete."

O took a seat beside the computer and fixed his eyes on the screen.

"As assessed earlier, the only clear transformation was the last one," said K. "The other two did not provide much data."

"I see," responded O. "Well, we'll be getting to analyze the test results soon. This should be good for comparison."

The two operatives lapsed into silence, their eyes still trained on the video footage of Danny's exposure. The first transformation was useless because the boy had been invisible and appeared out of nowhere after being shot by his father. The second was even worse since a cloud of smoke from the battlefield covered the shot completely. But the third was, for lack of a scientific word, beautiful. They could see Danny clearly from the moment the rings appeared all the way through the transformation. Since this only provided them with visual data, they analyzed it as best they could – the rate at which his molecular structure appeared to change based on the speed of the rings of light, and notes about his apparent physical exhaustion.

As operatives of the Guys in White, they were diligent in their work and redundantly rechecked their results several times. They would have to wait a little longer until the evening structure test session to get the more scientific results. Danny was scheduled to perform transformations and detransformations every night this week (after which point, sufficient data will have been collected to no longer warrant that particular test). O and K had managed to involve themselves in the office research operations (instead of remaining on their regular job out in the field), and would be investigating the results to determine the physical reaction of the transformation; Danny's brain activity throughout transformation, his mid-morph DNA, were there any bone density/muscle density/structural differences?

While K contemplated the upcoming work with an underlying eagerness, O reflected on their situation. The day had come at last when they caught the elusive Danny Phantom, and what's more was that he was far more interesting a subject than they had ever imagined. Every member of the Guys in White was devoted to learning about the paranormal – it was a job you had to love to be in it. Danny Phantom had turned into a mine of information and experiments, and O was quite happy to just study him.

Voicing his thoughts, O said, "I'm glad those FBI agents are finished with their task. It is best that this is left up to us. We don't need them to _butt_ into something that is clearly far above their level of expertise."

"Agreed," stated K.

"Hey, O, K," announced operative L, entering the room. "The first round of results has been posted."

"The ability tests?" asked K.

"Yes," confirmed L. "And the few structure tests administered this morning."

"That's good," said O. "Anything interesting?"

"Yes," L declared. "Based on both sets of results, the subject's power and structure are actually quite stable. That's surprising since he is a teenager."

"That is astonishing," nodded K. "Especially as his power has grown since we first encountered him, and it is likely to continue to grow."

"Ah, checking over the news tapes?" asked L noticing the screen. "Almost done?"

"Just completed, actually," replied K.

"Oh, well then would you like to join me? I'm going to watch in on the subject's testing until I am given some results to examine."

O and K consented at once and got up to leave the room with their coworker. The group traveled through several corridors until they approached a stairwell. Taking turns swiping their key cards at the access point, the three entered the stairwell and climbed to the second floor. L led the way to the lab that Danny was currently being tested in. They each swiped their key cards again to enter the observation room.

There were three people already inside when the newcomers arrived. Dr. T was among them. He barely paid any attention to the additional guests, focused instead on the glass through which the lab could be seen. This lab was one of the larger ones in the complex. It was two stories high, and as such, Danny was still on the first floor, in his ghost form. There were papers being printed at a nearby computer that the only woman in the room was attending to. It was the raw data of the initial limit test on Danny's flying ability.

Danny was currently being experimented on in his strength. This time to see how much weight he could hold until failing. There was a machine piling plank-like weights into Danny's arms. It was operated by the other man in the room. Danny had already done this test a few times, but the sadistic scientists aimed to see how long his stamina would last.

Danny grunted as another weight was placed on top of the already large pile in his arms. His arms were shaking and before he knew it, his knees had given way and the pile tumbled out of his hands onto the floor in front of him as he collapsed.

"Ow," he muttered to himself. He felt like a 90-year-old man as he rubbed his lower back. The tingling in his hands didn't add much comfort either.

"Well done, Danny," came Dr. T's voice over the intercom, one of the few compliments Danny had received all day. But it didn't bode well. The only other time Dr. T had said something similar, he followed it up with an even harder limit test.

"Your next assignment is to do the test again, but this time, we're adding another component to it," instructed Dr. T. "The ectoblast machine on the far wall will be firing at you while you hold the weights. You need to collect the weights where they are deposited for you, just as before, but you must also try not to be hit. This should be right up your alley, should it not? I've heard of many stories about your heroism – fighting while saving lives. I decided to be generous and allow you a little taste of it again."

Danny grimaced but knew better than to voice his opinion. What on earth was the point of this? Pure torture, there was nothing else he could think of. He readied himself, hoping deep down that he'd get to see the light of day again... these experiments would definitely kill him within a month...

Danny succeeded at collecting the first four planks while dodging the ectoblasts. The fifth plank was a close call – he managed to turn his right leg intangible just on time. He got minor cuts and scrapes as the sixth and seventh planks were added to his pile. But his good luck ended there as an ectoblast caught him right in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, and he dropped all the planks.

"From the top," ordered Dr. T in his way of telling Danny to start over.

Breathing hard, Danny pushed himself off the ground and got back in place again. Five... six... seven... He almost held onto eight, but an ectoblast he hadn't noticed grazed his bruised right elbow and shot a pain up into his shoulder. _How did I miss that?_ Danny wondered, twinging. _Wait a second... the ectoblasts... are speeding up?_

"Again," commanded Dr. T.

Sure enough, Danny noticed the rate of ectoblast fire increase at around the fifth weight plank and, panicking, he tried to shield himself with one arm but fell off-balanced and dropped all the weights.

"Come on, Fenton, I know you have more stamina than that," said Dr. T angrily. "From the top."

Slightly embarrassed, Danny went back to his position, preparing for another round of torture.

A couple of sets later with little success, he was thoroughly exhausted. He had cuts and bruises all over his body and all his muscles were hurting. It was becoming increasingly harder for him to think, let alone react. But the doctor wasn't satisfied and the drilling continued. Five... six... seven... ... ...eight... ... ...nine...

Nine planks, the speed of the ectoblasts higher than ever, Danny did all he could to avoid being hit while maintaining his grip on the weights... but it wasn't enough. In one motion, he threw the weights up with as much force as he could muster, created an ectoshield, and stumbled to the floor. The shield became a dome around him, the planks landed on top and he managed to keep them there, the ectoblasts pounded at him. In any moment, the shield was going to break and the planks would crush him if the ectoblasts didn't get to him first.

There was nothing left. If he didn't act now, he wouldn't have enough strength. He didn't think about it – he was an animal backed into a corner acting on instinct.

The Guys in White in the observation room didn't know what hit them. The unearthly sound they heard lasted only a second before the entire building trembled with incredible force. Danny had let loose a ghostly wail.

* * *

-(o)-

GLE – Well, there you have it! I hope it meets your satisfaction!

References in this chapter:  
_YTV's Saturday mornings Crunch_ (yay Canada!). I worked on this chapter four times over the past year – once last April after completing the previous chapter, once in June after finishing the first term of summer courses, once in December during holidays, and finally during the exam period these past couple of weeks. I wrote the FOP and DP reference part a year ago when FOP appeared on Crunch at 8:30am and DP was shown at 9:00am.

lol, writing that "L" says anything just makes me think of _Death Note_, but I'm actually borrowing a character from Danny Phantom. I think operative L was that blond one in Livin' Large.

Life Update:  
Wow, a lot has happened since my last update. I'll do my very best to keep this brief! This past year has been one incredible culmination of everything I've been doing in my life thus far. I've found my dream career! I'm going to be a sound designer! Right now my heart is set on film (recording and editing sound and voice, creating sound effects, etc – aka my favourite part of post-production!), but I'll also be learning how to do sound design for tv, animation, and video games. I've been accepted into the Vancouver Film School and I'm really excited!

I've finished up my last courses at university and I'm going to be graduating in a month – BA degree with a major in music. I've also completed my swimming career. I performed very well at the university nationals and at the Olympic Trials. It's a really weird feeling, being done. I had a fantastic end to my career, and I'm ready to move on, but it's been a part of my life for the past decade, so of course I'm a bit sad in saying goodbye. So now that swimming and school are both done, I get to relax for a short while. I'm starting at VFS in June and it's a year-long intensive program.

**Future Updates****:  
**Anyways, not that you all care about my life's story, the next chapter feels like a continuation of this one to me, so I expect to update rather soon, if I can (and by 'soon', I mean, a couple of weeks or so). The chapter after that will be setting up for the climax, so it'll need a lot of planning, like this chapter did. I won't make any promises for the update on that one. I would, however, love to be finished this story before I start at VFS. Heh, but I'm already planning like a hundred things to do before then!

Well, this certainly has been one very long read for you, so I'll stop typing now and let you get about to pressing that little "submit review" button below!

-)Golden Lunar Eclipse(-


	8. To Save Danny

GLE – hello all! Here's another update! It's a quite a bit shorter than the last chapter, but it is the perfect length for what I have planned. I don't really have much else to say, so, enjoy!

-(o)-

Do Superheroes Exist?

Chapter 8: To Save Danny

It was late afternoon and the sun's rays set a haze of heat over the large crowd. Many people who had arrived that morning to protest were getting quite tired, but no one would let up their side of the argument. By now, the protesters had narrowed their views down to three groups; the two main groups were the "Free Phantom Campaign" and the "No More Ghosts Movement", while the third group was rather small and sat as a medium between both extremes whose aim in the protest was to save the human side of Danny, but not the ghost side.

Dash and Paulina, with their popularity and charisma at hand, led the Free Phantom Campaign. All of the cheerleaders and football players from Casper High came to their aid, as well as many other students, and a few teachers, among them, Mr. Lancer and Ms. Tetslaff. The No More Ghosts Movement was of course led by Mrs. Manson, with her husband by her side. A predominant member of Amity Park, Mayer Montez seemed to be siding with their cause. It also appeared that Mr. and Mrs. Foley had been roped in by the Mansons in the bid to rid Amity Park of Danny Phantom, though they were leaning towards the third and quietest group, wanting the best for their son including his happiness.

The police had arrived some time ago to try to keep the peace between protesters, though they were unable to stop a couple of brawls before noses were broken and a little blood was shed. They now stood on the perimeters of the crowd.

The chanting from earlier was continuing. For the No More Ghosts Movement, their main chant was: "Down With Danny! No More Ghosts!". The Free Phantom Campaign adopted the cheer: "Free the ghost we love the most!". There were some breaks, where the cheering would quiet down and the crowd would just buzz with conversation, but inevitably someone would start up one of their cheers again, and the other side would try to outdo them, and everything would get loud once more as people shouted themselves hoarse.

"Free the ghost we love the most!" yelled Mr. Lancer.

"You tell 'em, Lancer!" encouraged Dash.

"I'm surprised at you, Mr. Lancer!" said Pam Manson, approaching the invisible border between the two groups of protesters. "An important educator like you should know better than anyone how dangerous it is to have Danny Phantom around other children!"

"Y-yes," said Lancer uneasily, his face reddening a little. He hated being put on the spot like this.

"Danny has been nothing but trouble ever since he became a ghost!" continued the angry woman. "I'm sure you've noticed his terrible behaviour! And the risks he takes while dragging my daughter around! Putting her into jeopardy all the time! You and I both know that he needs to be locked up for good!"

"Now wait just a minute here!" said Mr. Lancer, finding his voice. "It's true that Mr. Fenton has been skipping out on classes, handing in half-finished homework, coming in late, and sleeping through tests and lectures. His marks and attendance are terrible! But he's a good student when he tries, and he's got an excellent set of morals! There's not a bone in my body that would wish to see the boy locked up! He's protected my students from harm-seeking ghosts many times, and he's saved me on several occasions," stated Mr. Lancer. "And might I add that your daughter's attitude has nothing to do with who her friends are – she's an independent, outspoken, and creative young lady that I think any parent would be proud of."

Silence followed Lancer's outburst, only interrupted when a couple of police officers came to mediate the argument.

"What seems to be the trouble here?" asked the tall one.

After a moment, Pam Manson answered, "No trouble, Officer," and she promptly left, heading towards the center of the No More Ghosts Movement, her husband in tow.

But before she could disappear into the crowd, a shriek sounded from the edge, and it soon spread into the large-scale panic of everyone in the vicinity. The police were at a loss as ghosts had swarmed the throng outside City Hall and were terrorizing the people. The protesters broke up and started scrambling away from the area as fast as they could. The news crews that were still around grabbed their equipment in a rush and commenced broadcasting the situation despite their own personal wellbeing.

Technus floated next to the Ghost Portal door in FentonWorks, having successfully infiltrated the system the Guys in White had left there as a means of catching Danny, and having turned it off.

"Go, go!" he shouted to the ghosts that were speeding through the portal. "You are free! Thanks to my ingenuity we can all have a lot of fun now! The ghost child isn't around! Enjoy your shopping!"

Maddie and Jack, eyes drooping in boredom from their endless wait in City Hall, heard the unmistakable screams of people being attacked by ghosts and jumped into action at once. They joined the uproar outside and assessed the situation.

"The ghosts are taking over the city! We've got to do something, Jack!" cried Maddie.

"You're right, Maddie! Let's go kick some ectoplasmic butt!"

With their weapons confiscated, Maddie and Jack had only one resource each left to them – their jumpsuits. Diving into the throng, they began their acrobatic routine, firing at the ghosts nearest them. But with their limited arsenal, they barely made a dent in the large contingent of ghosts that had arrived in their beautiful city. It looked like the beginning of a losing battle on their part.

* * *

Damon sat on his couch, watching the six o'clock news. Ghosts had attacked the downtown core of Amity Park, and had now spread out to the rest of the city. There hadn't been any ghosts in his area though, and if any had come into his apartment to attack him, he was glad of the White-Ceiver on his fridge that he'd obtained from the Guys in White. It supposedly would provide him with a shield, should an ectoblast be fired at him.

But he wasn't much concerned with his own safety. He was worried about his daughter, even though he knew she had handled herself against a fair number of ghosts before today and could probably take them on, if attacked. Tucker's house was close to the high school, and ghosts were likely to be lurking in that neighbourhood. But Tucker was also a friend to the famed ghost boy, and he had perhaps trained himself against ghosts as well. Damon attempted to call the residence, but no one answered. Maybe they'd already left for the poetry reading? But where were Mr. and Mrs. Foley?

Sitting around wasn't doing him any good, so he stood up to stretch. And to get his mind off of things, he decided to have a shower. The warm water always succeeded in relaxing his nerves.

A few hours later, he got ready for the graveyard shift at work. Dusk had fallen quite some time ago as he stepped out into the night air and made a beeline for his car.

* * *

Vlad sat in a high-backed chair next to a fireplace, a teacup in one hand, a saucer in the other. He stared at the flames that were dancing about, casting shadows around his room. There'd been a lot to think about in the past week and he hadn't yet decided what he was going to do about it. How did Daniel's predicament affect him? Ultimately, that was the question beneath it all. That and, 'How could he use this situation to benefit himself?' This second question was the question that existed in every action that he took.

Vlad lifted his drink to his lips and downed the rest of the tea in one shot. He'd found his answers.

* * *

Five shadowed figures crept silently towards the perimeter of the complex. They moved as a unit from bush to bush and tree to tree, thankful that it was a mostly cloudy night with darkness upon black to cover them. Jazz had parked the car on the other side of the small forest and the team had stumbled their way through the woods to arrive here. Three yards ahead of them, the last bush sat solitarily, and five yards beyond that stood the fence.

They could see into the yard of the base. Most of it was empty, but as they waited, a guard appeared briefly on his rounds, disappearing again around another corner. Now was their chance!

They approached the wired fence quickly, covered by Danielle's invisibility. Sam and Jazz stood behind her, each with one hand on her shoulder or back. The halfa had placed her left hand on Valerie's back and her right hand on Tucker's. Valerie held two small weapons. Tucker was armed with his PDA.

The operation began with Tucker. He was doing some fast typing on his baby, calculating the energy levels of the ghost shield on the fence. Once he had them confirmed, he flashed the screen of his PDA in Val's direction. Valerie double-checked her ectoguns to verify that they were at the proper setting. Nodding to the others she began a careful procedure. She fired the gun in her left hand and a low beam emitted from it that hit the shield and cancelled it out. Then she aimed the gun in her right hand at a point that was far enough from the first to allow space for a person to pass through. The two guns were still close enough to one another that when the beam from the second gun hit the shield the canceling effect formed a circle between them. Dani turned the entire group intangible and they each squeezed through the opening one at a time in a line, passing the guns to one another as they made their way through until Jazz was holding them both behind herself.

The firing from the ectoguns was stopped and the guns were quickly put away. They hurried to the wall of the complex. Jazz's original plan for this phase of the operation had been complicated, but once she'd devised the way to get through the outer fence, she decided it was also the best method to get into the building. And so, they repeated the processes and broke into the base.

They quietly made their way down the halls. Dani continued to use invisibility on the entire group, while Jazz led the way with hand and body gestures to indicate the direction. Jazz had gone over the plans in her mind so many times, especially during the long drive here. She aimed to execute them perfectly. Danny's cell was at the north-west end of the complex. Since they'd entered in the east, there was a lot of ground to cover until they reached him. They passed by labs and offices and other such rooms, only pausing when they arrived in a corridor that appeared to have been hit by a tornado – or an explosion, at the very least. They had to tread cautiously over the rubble and a draft of air brought their attention to the outer wall of the complex. They could see it through the broken windows and the two-storey lab – most of it had been blown out and the lawn was clearly visible from where they stood.

_What happened here?_ wondered Sam anxiously. _Was Danny involved? Is he ok?_

Prompted from her thoughts as the group began forwards again, she maneuvered carefully over the rest of the debris with the others, glancing back several times. It was then that she noticed a basketball-sized hole in the wall across from the demolished lab. There was something familiar about the web-like shape beyond it. She nudged Tucker who passed the nudge along and the team stopped once more. Jazz argued silently that they needed to continue forward, but Sam insisted with big hand gestures that there was something in the room behind the wall with the hole in it and she thought it was important. Exasperatedly, Jazz gave in and they walked to the wall. Dani peeped in and whispered almost inaudibly to the others what she saw.

"There's a lot of stuff," she said. "It's like a storage… hey! That one has the Fenton symbol on it!"

Her words were enough to pique Jazz's interest and so the whole group phased into the room. The emergency lights cast a glow around them, probably having turned on due to whatever had caused the devastation of the lab. They were surrounded by all of the Fenton gear that had been confiscated by the Guys in White. Sam immediately recognized the Ghost Catcher that had caught her attention from outside the room.

Tucker pulled out his PDA and used it to check the camera on the ceiling.

"Good," he whispered to the others. "The camera's power is out – its wires probably got caught up in whatever it was that happened across the hall."

"Thanks, Tuck," said Sam. "So can we grab some of this stuff, Jazz? It does belong to your family, after all, and we might be able to use some of it when we're with Danny – give ourselves an advantage."

"Yes," replied Jazz. "That's a good idea… Plus, I'm quite happy to see it returned to us. Don't weigh yourselves down with anything, though. Just grab necessities."

A few ectoguns, a couple of belts and a couple of thermoses, the Jack o' Nine Tails, and the Fenton Bazooka comprised their loot. Most of it was stashed in the backpacks they were carrying, except for three ectoguns that each Sam, Tucker, and Jazz placed on themselves.

"Ok, let's go," ordered Jazz. "We shouldn't spend longer than we need to in this building. Let's get Danny."

A few corridors later, they arrived at the metallic door behind which Danny slept. Tucker was ready with his PDA to enter the high security code on the lock and Sam pulled a mini-heater from her backpack. _Grab Danny and toss the heater inside,_ she rehearsed in her head. _Dani will power it with an ectoblast as Danny crosses the threshold of his room. We'll fool the thermal sensors into believing he's still inside. Tucker will unlock the collar on Danny's neck with the code he hacked from the Guys in White before we shut the door, so they won't be able to track him. Then we get as far away as possible._ She closed her fist tightly. _We can do this. We're getting you out of here, Danny._

Just then, her ears detected a sound from down the hall. Someone was whistling and coming closer.

"Hurry, Tucker," she whispered urgently.

"Almost there," he said. "And… done!"

The light on the keypad changed from red to green and the locks clicked open. Jazz reached out and pulled the door towards her. _This is it!_ she thought. _We're here Danny!_

With the door wide open, shock stunned the team. Jazz felt as though a big weight had just hit her hard and she stopped breathing for a moment.

"He's not here," stated Dani after a few seconds, and hearing the footsteps and the whistling getting louder she urged, "We've gotta get away from here."

They shut the door and it clicked to lock itself. Before they could even turn around, the alarm suddenly sounded. The lights along the hall blinked, the ringing echoed off the walls, and the keypad was flashing red: "XTHRM PTRN". Everyone flinched and scrambled to leave. Dani tripped and fell, losing contact with the others.

The whistler appeared at the end of their hall and spotted the four visible teens. Two guards were rushing towards them from the other side and more backup was on the way. The four high-schoolers pulled out their weapons while the fifth member of their team, still invisible, stood and prepared her fists. There was shouting and soon the blasts of a battle would begin, but in an instant, Sam's stance changed. She pulled the Fenton Bazooka from her backpack and fired it once, hitting her target perfectly.

Dani's feelings of betrayal were evident, even though Sam was unable to see her, as the mini-portal began to suck her into the Ghost Zone.

"Catch," said Sam, tossing to the younger girl the weapon she'd just used on her, and seeing it satisfactorily become invisible. "You need to get away from here before they know about you."

Dani's presence vanished completely, but Sam was sure the halfa understood why she'd fired at her.

"Good thinking," said Jazz.

"Good aim," said Valerie.

"Thanks," answered Sam, astonished by Val's compliment.

"Let's kick some butt and get outta here," Valerie added.

Sam smiled, despite herself, turning swiftly to face the oncoming operatives of the Guys in White.

"Hold it right there!" yelled the whistler to them. "Drop your weapons and put your hands up! We've got you trapped."

Valerie replied by dropping a smoke bomb that covered the area. The team followed her lead and slipped past the guards, heading back in the direction that they'd come from. Valerie noted with some gratification that the distraction had worked, and she was glad that she'd added it to her arsenal. But the smoke cleared quickly enough and the Guys in White began their pursuit.

Team Phantom had arrived at the beginning of the corridor with the destroyed lab. But their advancement ended there. The backup had arrived, blocking them off from the rest of the hall, lab included.

The teens reversed themselves and ducked back around the corner, using the wall as a shield. Gunfire opened, the Guys in White were aiming to stun them. They returned the fire.

"Uh, guys…" stated Tucker uneasily.

Sam whipped her head around to see the approaching men who were drawing their weapons. She shot at them once to get them to back off a little bit. Valerie joined her, pulling out her hoverboard to act as a shield. Tucker and Jazz concentrated on the men up ahead, in the hall with the devastated lab. The four teens were crouched against the corner, back to back with one another as the battle raged on.

"We're at a stalemate," said Jazz. "But it isn't going to last long. They'll have an advantage if more people arrive, and we can't hold out forever. If we can get to that lab, we can get into the yard. We'll have to blast at the fence to get it down. It's going to be tricky. And I don't even want to think about what we should do after that… they've definitely got us on camera by now."

"It'll be alright, Jazz," said Sam in what she wished was a reassuring voice. "We'll be fine if we get out of here. I just… I just hope that Danny is ok."

The fight continued as the group lapsed into silence. Everything had gone so well, until they'd discovered that Danny was missing from his room. Where could he be at this time of night? What did the Guys in White do to him? Was it possible that he'd escaped on his own? With little time to think, the subject of Danny was dropped from their heads as the teens rushed ideas through their minds about how they were going to get out of this situation.

"What did we grab from the storage room again?" asked Tucker. "The Jack o' Nine Tails was in there, right? Who has it now?"

"I do," Jazz replied.

"Alright, I'll back you up," Tucker said. "Sam and Val, keep firing until we're ready."

Tucker stepped closer to the corner, flattening himself against the wall. Glancing into the hall beyond them, he shot six successive rounds as Jazz dove out below his fire. She ran towards the men who were ducking behind their shields, and when Tucker's firing stopped and they popped up their heads to aim and return the fire once more, Jazz attacked. The Jack o' Nine Tails went flying, catching the three men in front and binding them together. In the confusion of tangled wires, the struggling opposition lost all concentration on the battle, dragging their co-workers into the mess.

"Now!" called Jazz to the others. Tucker and Sam bounded forwards as Valerie remained to provide backup fire. As she did so, she hastily typed instructions to her hoverboard. The hoverboard started floating of its own accord and began firing at the group of men gathered behind them, advancing slowly towards them. Valerie hurried to follow the others.

They rushed through the rubble in the hall, and over a half-wall into the deserted lab. It was surprisingly easier than they expected to get through the disaster area and soon enough they'd made it onto the grounds that surrounded the building. Breathing heavily as they ran back towards the east end, the crisp night air filled their lungs. Their eyes were open for any possible weak point in the outer fence that they could use to break through; otherwise, they'd just have to hope they were successful at getting through it rapidly once they made it back to their starting point.

But they never got near enough to the fence to try. A small army of about twenty guards had come out to greet them and floodlights soon caught them like deer in headlights. Turning on the spot, they realized they were completely surrounded. In defeat, they dropped their weapons and raised their hands, palms open.

* * *

-(o)-

GLE – I've already written part of the next chapter, so it should be finished relatively soon. Then we'll just have to hope that I finish the last two chapters before the end of the month, otherwise we'll be looking at another year-long hiatus.

I've now graduated! And I'm back home for a month, visiting family and friends! I've also had some time to myself, so in comes the writing of this fic. Anyways, as you all know, I _love_ reviews, so feel free to send a comment my way!


	9. Nightmare World

GLE – another update! Heh, this must be the fastest update since the first three chapters. Again, I don't really have anything to say right now, so go on and read it!

-(o)-

Do Superheroes Exist?

Chapter 9: Nightmare World

Danny was twitching uncomfortably in his sleep, so much so that he rolled into the wall and woke up. There were wireless and small electronic devices attached to him, around his head and chest to monitor his body during sleep, but he was practically unaware of them. He lit his hand to shed some light on the dark room and get his bearings, but almost immediately wished he hadn't because the ectoplasm in his blood began to burn.

Despite the pain, he decided to maintain the light for a little while. It was comforting. There was a noise somewhere nearby beyond the walls indicating morning's arrival, but he didn't really care. He felt very tired.

He remembered the ghostly wail. He had thought he was going to die. They'd succeeded in pushing him to survival mode. He'd collapsed and blacked out. When he had come to, he'd been in the Medical Center where they do the structure tests. They had been talking in serious voices but the words didn't make it to his ears and he'd passed out again. That must have been sometime last night. Now he was in his room and he had the grace of some alone time.

The thought crossed Danny's mind that he didn't have the energy anymore to resist. It had crossed his mind the previous day, but this time it was more pressing. He didn't want to give up, but he could already tell that it was getting harder to hold his resolve… and sanity.

Letting the painful light die from his hand, Danny once again slipped into darkness, awaiting the next round of torture.

* * *

Dr. T had wanted to push Danny psychologically. _The sooner he breaks, the easier it'll be to test him_. Hell, he still wanted to push him, but he had to hold back now, if even just a little bit. He hadn't expected the ghostly wail; no one had. If Danny had had enough strength after using it, if the boy had not waited to use it as a last resort, he could have escaped.

It was an amazing attack. Since they'd been monitoring him for the other test, they'd gotten readings on his ghostly wail. At present, they were not equipped to have it used again in the lab. It had an incredible power behind it and a lot of potential for future weapons, but that would have to wait.

Dr. T left his office, a syringe with anti-serum in hand, heading towards Danny's cell. It was time to wake his subject and begin testing again.

* * *

Mr. and Mrs. Foley, Mr. and Mrs. Manson, and Mr. and Mrs. Fenton sat in a waiting room of the police station that was local to the Guys in White's research base. They'd been contacted before dawn about the illegal breaking and entering their children had been up to last night, and had driven here as fast as they could. Only Mr. Gray was missing; he was just finishing up his shift now and would soon be discovering an unpleasant message on his answering machine when he arrived home.

The Fentons had fought the ghosts at City Hall, the previous evening, and had managed to drive them away, but they were unable to clear the city of the pesky things. They'd returned to the hotel to try to rest up for the next day, but didn't get much sleep, especially since the phone call about Jazz arrived in the dead of the night.

The Foleys and the Mansons had rushed home from the protest in a panic, trying to find sanctuary from the ghosts. The Foleys didn't notice until they called Tucker down for supper that their son was missing, and though slightly worried, they'd been more irritated that he'd gone out with his friends without telling them. They went to bed early and hoped that their son wouldn't stay out too late, especially with ghosts on the loose. The Mansons had been informed right away that their daughter had disappeared, and they feared the worst – that a ghost had kidnapped her. They spent a highly restless night stressing out, until the phone call came.

The four teens sat in lock-up. They hadn't gotten any sleep. They'd been escorted off the premises of the Guys in White's complex once they'd been handcuffed, and, one by one, they'd been interviewed throughout the rest of the night.

Operative B shook his head in discontent. He'd been the one on duty in the Communications Room during the break-in. The Communications Room had a large wall covered by monitors which corresponded to all the cameras in the complex. It also had several computers, one of which linked to the Ghost Tracking Devices (GTD) System. Since the successful capture of Danny Phantom, most of the operatives of the Guys in White had been ignoring this computer screen; they'd be picking up their regular ghost hunting duties again in a couple of weeks, and until then, give the lab operatives time to learn about the Ghost Boy, exponentially increasing the info the Guys in White had on ghosts.

The GTD system was the center for information gathered by wireless devices outside the complex, and it covered all the White-Ceivers and Fly-Tell devices that had been sent out to various Casper High families before the detainment of Danny Phantom, among other devices. Last night, Operative B had given a glance towards it during his shift and he'd noticed a Fly-Tell device seemed to be reacting to a ghostly presence. The location was from within the complex.

He'd shrugged it off as a malfunction of the machine, but after the commotion that resulted of the four teens' breaking and entering, he realized that one of them must be carrying the device unaware of it, and that it also confirmed the presence of a ghost aid. He'd seen enough when reviewing the security footage to report to his superiors that a ghost was helping them – the door to the Phantom Boy's room appeared to open of its own accord, the four teens popped out of nowhere when the alarms went off, one of them shot a portal-creation device towards thin air and it seemed to hit, and then the same girl tossed the weapon to the spot she'd fired at where it disappeared. He decided not to tell his boss that he'd seen the Fly-Tell device's signature.

Now he sat, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyed exhaustion, having been the operative sent to the police station with the delinquents. He'd spoken to each teen, one by one, throughout the remainder of the night, trying to get as much info out of them as he could. The foundation for the Guys in White felt vulnerable – four_ teens _and a_ ghost _had_ successfully infiltrated_ their security! Of course they'd turned off the ghost alarms, since they had a ghost within the complex who was using his powers in experiments. And they never expected anyone to break through the double shield that was the ghost shield and the outer electric fence around the complex.

His interviews with the high-schoolers led him practically nowhere. Manson wouldn't speak, at all. Gray wasn't much more useful. The boy, Foley, was the only one nervous enough to slip up, indirectly indicating the Fenton girl, sister to the Ghost Boy, as the leader of the operation. But when Operative B had questioned her, she denied it and claimed that the ghost with them had thought the plan through.

"Who was this ghost?" Operative B had demanded.

"I don't know," Jazz had replied. "It said it was an ally of Danny's. It was invisible the whole time. We only heard its voice and we decided to trust it."

In the end, Operative B had to concede that the children really were stupid enough to follow the ghost and take the fall for it. He didn't think they'd been bewitched or possessed, however. They all had reasons for wanting to kidnap the Ghost Boy. The ghost that had broken in with them, on the other hand, was incredibly intelligent, possibly very dangerous. It had successfully devised a plan to break into the base, guiding the group invisibly towards Phantom's room, probably using intangibility as well. It seemed to know the layout of the complex fairly well too, perhaps having gotten inside information about the Guys in White.

If Phantom had been in his room at that time, as originally planned, and not with the Guys down in the Medical Center, they may have actually accomplished the abduction of the Ghost Boy. But, of course, he'd been taken there right after using the ghostly wail and they'd kept him there late into the night, monitoring him. It was lucky that the culprits who'd broken in didn't realize that when the door was opened, it was expected that the boy's thermal imprint would be there after the door closed until the next time it was opened. That oversight was what set the alarms off and allowed them to be caught.

It would be really hard to track down the ghost who'd masterminded the break-in. There were no visuals of it anywhere, and even the children had no idea what it looked like. There was no evidence as to how powerful it actually was, and it could very well remain hidden in the vast Ghost Zone until long after it was forgotten. But, considering it tried to snatch the Ghost Boy from the Guys in White, it was likely that it would try again sometime in the near future.

It had probably contacted the Fenton girl first, and she'd been the one to rope the others into it. This ghost might try to contact her again, or perhaps it would choose a different group of Phantom supporters.

In any case, Operative B had different obligations to be concerned with at the moment. He stood up and headed out into the waiting room, ready to greet the parents of the felonious teens. Each child was being charged with breaking and entering. Since they hadn't technically assaulted the law or resisted arrest (they'd only fought with security and operatives of the Guys in White), and since they were all minors, that was all they were being charged with. He pressed onto the parents that they were lucky their children were not being charged with more, that the Guys in White were nice enough to let them off with only that.

The parents expressed their gratitude and paid for bail, and their children were released.

"Samantha!" exclaimed Pam Manson the moment her daughter appeared. "I can't believe you did such a reckless thing!"

Sam's face was set in a stony expression as she approached her mother.

"Come here," said Pam. And stepping forward to greet her daughter, she pulled her into a tender embrace. "I was so worried about you," she whispered sincerely.

Sam's surprise softened her stance, and she hugged her mother back. She'd expected to be berated about this and had prepared herself on the defensive. She didn't realize how concerned her parents would be. Reaching around with her right arm, she patted her mom awkwardly on the back. Human contact like this was still somewhat outside her comfort zone.

"We were worried, too, Tucker," stated Maurice Foley, giving his son a stern look. Then changing his expression, he said, "But punishing you can wait. Come on, let's go home. You must be as tired as we are."

The Foley family and the Manson family began to leave, their children glancing back briefly towards Jazz before exiting the building.

"Jazzypants!" Jack exclaimed. "Jazz, honey!" cried Maddie.

Jazz held up her hands for quiet. "I know, I'm in a lot of trouble. Mom, Dad… I'm sorry."

"We want him back as much as you do," said Maddie. "But breaking the law isn't the way to go about it. What were you planning to do after that?"

Jazz was at a loss for words.

"Did you at least give the Guys in White a good thrashing?" asked Jack in an audible whisper, unable to contain his dislike for the men who'd taken his son from him.

"Jack!" chastised Maddie.

Her husband grinned sheepishly.

"Mom, Dad," began Jazz. "I have a really big favour to ask. I know I'm really in no position to be saying this, but can I borrow some money? I promise I'll pay you back."

"Jazz! Whatever for?" asked Maddie incredulously.

"I want to pay the bail and the charges for Valerie. I feel like it's my fault she got into this mess, and well, her family isn't doing so well on the financial side of things."

Maddie considered this for a moment, then replied, "Alright, honey. We'll pay for Valerie. But, _she'll_ be the one to pay us back, since she's old enough to think for herself and realize the trouble she was getting into. We'll consider this a loan."

"Thank you!" Jazz exclaimed happily, hugging her mother.

"Well, let's get Valerie out then and go home to Amity Park," said Maddie.

"Wait… you're not going to punish me?" wondered Jazz.

"I think you've learned your lesson," smiled Maddie. "And besides, Jack and I are thankful that you're alright."

Jack grinned. "And what your mother means to say is, we're glad you got to kick some Guys in White butt, even if you were unable to rescue Danny from them."

Maddie's eyes just twinkled as she headed towards the police reception to pay for Valerie's bail. Jazz proceeded to the phone to call Mr. Gray and inform him that they were returning with his daughter. Maddie would be driving Jazz's car, following Jack, who'd be driving the girls back to the Gray's residence. The Fentons were happy more than anything that they'd been reunited, however briefly, with one of their children.

* * *

It was lunchtime, but Danny didn't have enough energy to eat.

Two days had gone by… two days of hell… it felt like a week. He lay face down on the cold cement floor, unable to at least get up and go lie on his bed. His heart was beating – ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump. He was breathing – inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Tears of pain had stained and dried on his cheeks. His eyes remained unfocused in the dim lighting.

He was tired and so sore he was numb. Blurred memories crossed his mind; the torturous tests, faces of people he used to know, the feelings of loss and submission. There was _nothing_ to look forward to. Burying his angst into the hard cement beneath him, he let it all slip away into a discontented sleep.

Early afternoon, Danny sat in the interview room with Dr. T, taking a break from the physical activities of the day for some psychological drilling. The questions the doctor asked him probed into more detail on specific ghosts. Danny, void of all enthusiasm, answered in monotone.

"Would you say that you have any allies among the ghosts?" asked Dr. T.

"Yes," replied Danny indifferently. "I have a few."

"Of those few, would any of them be willing to risk their life for you?"

"I dunno," said Danny. "You'd have to ask them."

"Well, how close would you say you are to them? Is there any one ghost whom you'd call a friend?"

Danny thought for a moment. Then, apathetically he answered, "Maybe."

"Ok," said Dr. T, doing his best to hide his displeasure. "Well, which of those use intangibility and invisibility?"

"Intangibility and invisibility?" repeated Danny flatly. "Intangibility and invisibility are basic ghost traits. Almost everyone can use those. I thought you knew that."

Dr. T grimaced. Clearly he wasn't getting anywhere with this line of questioning, but he wasn't going to tell his subject that some of his friends had broken in during the night, even if it might push the boy into identifying the ghost that had helped them. It was time to change the subject. Dr. T reflected on some questions that he had prepared, such as "Why do you hunt ghosts?", "Why don't you use your powers for other means?", "Why did you rob that bank?", "What about this time, or that time?", etc. Those questions would probe his personality and perhaps give Dr. T a better insight into how to control Danny. But before he started along this train of thought, a different question came to his lips that he thought the boy might be willing to answer now that his spirit seemed to be broken.

"How many ghosts do you know are more powerful than you are?" he asked.

"Um… I guess three. Maybe. Some days are worse than others."

"Three? Good," said Dr. T, happy to have gotten a substantial response. "What makes them more powerful than you?"

"They just are," stated Danny. "I've been lucky to defeat them in the past. Well, there's one that I'd never even _try_ to go up against… not again, anyways…"

"Would you consider this one ghost to be a threat to humans?"

"No," Danny replied impassively. "He never leaves the Ghost Zone."

"And the other two? Am I assuming correctly that Pariah Dark is one of them?"

"Yes."

"Then the last one… is a danger to us?"

"…" Danny paused, then responded, "Sometimes."

"What is this ghost's name?" prompted Dr. T.

Danny shook his head. "I don't know his name," he declared, unmoved. "Some people call him the 'Wisconsin Ghost'." Danny wasn't sure why he was lying, especially since he could care less about Vlad, and he'd already lost a great part of his sense of self and pride. He just did it without thinking.

"Well, I think we'll wrap it up here today," announced Dr. T. "It's time for more ability tests. Stand. I'll escort you to the lab."

They left the room and walked down the hall. At the other end, Dr. T injected Danny with the anti-serum to cancel the effects of the serum and allow him to use his ghost abilities again. Danny proceeded into the lab alone and awaited instructions. Dr. T headed upstairs wondering to himself whether any of the progress he'd just made with the boy was valid. He was unable to tell whether Danny had been lying or holding back at all. While he'd gotten a lot more responses since the Ghost Boy's spirit broke, there was always a lingering possibility that the kid could be lying. He _was_ half-human, after all.

Shaking his head, Dr. T resolved to ask all the questions again at a later date to see if there were any variations in the answers. Until then, he would take the boy at his word.

The spark was gone from Danny's eyes. He stood calmly waiting for the tests to begin, letting his mind drift of its own accord. It occurred to him in some distant part of his brain that he was determined to maintain lies to any questions that concerned or could lead to the knowledge of the existence of others like him. He'd probably have to protect Vlad's identity more often than Dani's, but he was going to do it anyways. He didn't know why. Maybe some part of him was still fighting. He was just too exhausted to look for it.

* * *

"Good afternoon!" exclaimed Tiffany Snow in a chippy, valleygirl voice. "Ghost attacks have increased exponentially overnight. Since yesterday's protests, Amity Park has been flooded by them! As people flee the city, ghosts are also expanding outwards. We have Lance Thunder on the scene. Lance?"

"Thanks, Tiff, uh – _ow_ – ahem! I'm reporting to you from the outskirts of – _ouch_ – Amity Park, where, as you can see, ghosts – _ow, stop that_ – are running, I mean floating, rampant. I've gotten reports from neighbouring communities of the sudden ghost attacks. The citizens – _ouch! Not the suit! _NOT THE SUIT!"

"Oh? I'm back on?" asked Tiffany. "Right, then. I've just received a notice that our governor has declared our state to be in an emergency situation. The entire state is overrun by menacing ghosts. We'll keep you updated as more reports come in. This is Tiffany Snow in the Channel 4 News Room!"

As the station cut to ads, Tiffany leaned back in her chair and sighed. _There's been a lot to report, this week. So many stories on ghosts! I've been doing a good job!_ She stood up and stretched a little, thinking about grabbing a drink on her next coffee break. The commercials were almost over and she sat back down, preparing for the next segment. A few ghosts flew through the studio, racing each other, but Tiffany seemed unaware of them and just chatted on about smaller news articles that were ghost-free in nature.

Meanwhile, the rest of the state really _was_ in a panic about ghosts. In fact, a lot of states were being terrorized by the paranormal beings and soon, not only would the United States be haunted by them, but they'd become a threat to the whole world.

Danny's regular suspects were out and about; Skulker, the Box Ghost, Desiree, the Lunch Lady, Klemper, Ember, and even the Ghost Writer, among others, were establishing themselves in various places of the Real World and taking over. The most successful familiar haunter was the Fright Knight, whose thirst for creating nightmares affected everyone around him in a large radius that was growing steadily bigger.

By the end of the day, the press was calling this worldwide attack the beginning of a possible war between ghosts and humans. No army was equipped to fight against the ghosts (not even the American army, despite the hand that their higher-ups had in the experimentation on the hybrid, Danny Fenton/Phantom). Those who could fight ghosts, like the Guys in White, the Groovy Gang, and the Extreme Ghostbreakers, were barely making a dent in the massive throng of ectoplasmic entities. Some smaller governments felt compelled to negotiate with the paranormal terrorists, but soon discovered such negotiations were impossible – the ghosts' main intention was for reckless chaos. The human world plunged into a vulnerable state of darkness and no one felt safe in their own homes anymore.

* * *

Maddie and Jack were out of ammo, and lacking the proper equipment to build new ectoguns, they found themselves watching the devastation of their beloved Amity Park from their hotel window. It was one of the few times in Jack Fenton's life when he felt completely powerless to do anything. Both husband and wife comforted one another, not only because they felt incapable of taking any action, but also because, for the third time this week, they had had to see a child of theirs be taken away. Jazz was, of course, with the Grays once again. Maddie hoped she was safe.

The Fentons prepared for bed, methodically. Perhaps they'd be able to get some sleep tonight?

It happened when Jack was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth. Maddie was standing at the window, watching the ghosts in the distance zoom around the tops of buildings and cackle gleefully. She was frowning and then she froze, fear gripping her heart as a voice in the darkness beside her began to speak.

"Hello, Maddie," it said.

Trying to appear collected, Maddie responded to the invisible figure. "Who are you?" She knew full well there was a ghost in the room.

"Oh, just an old friend, just an old friend," it replied. She could hear the smile in its voice, but there was also something else… regret, perhaps?

"Why are you here?" demanded Maddie, her eyes still fixed on the window.

The ghost was silent before answering. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately," it began in a serious tone. "I know I've done many foolish things in my life – I'd even include this conversation in that list. I've made a decision recently that goes a bit beyond my usual standards for a decision and well, I wanted to hear your thoughts before I acted upon it."

Caught by surprise in this statement, Maddie turned to fully face the voice of the invisible entity.

"What do you mean?" she asked, fixing her eyes at a point on the wall.

"Heh," the ghost chuckled. "Maybe the truth is that I just wanted to hear your voice. In any case, if I could help your son… would you want me to?"

Maddie's stomach dropped as she gasped. This ghost wanted to _help_ her Danny? Didn't all the ghosts hate her son for continually beating them and sending them back to the Ghost Zone? What was the catch? She asked this last question out loud.

"Ho, ho!" the ghost laughed. "You know me too well!" it said. "I suppose the catch is that I'm hoping to make this situation benefit me. But, as I said, this decision doesn't fall under my usual standards. If it ends up benefiting me or not I probably won't know until years from now. Oh, you should hurry, Maddie; your husband sounds almost done."

Maddie startled. She'd completely forgotten where she was as the conversation with the ghost took place. In one faithful moment, she breathed, "Yes. If you can help Danny, I would be eternally grateful to you."

The ghost was quiet for so long she'd thought it had left, until it whispered its goodbye.

"I will save your son," it said, voice constricted with emotion.

Maddie felt a small gust of air and heard the whirl of a cape, and she knew for sure now that it was gone.

* * *

It was early Monday morning when a meeting was held between the heads of National Defense, the FBI, and a liason of the CIA, and a discussion took place on the future of the world as well as the future of a project that the three departments had teamed together to create. It was then decided that there was only one option to take and Elizabeth Medley decided to personally see it through.

She called up her contact in the Guys in White and instructed him to greet her at the main entrance to the Central Research Laboratories. She took a quick flight on a private jet (luckily not running into any ghost problems) and arrived at the location where Danny Phantom was being held and tested on.

Her contact escorted her inside and led her straight to the Medical Center, where Danny's daily structure tests were taking place. The men in the room stood en garde at seeing an unfamiliar and unauthorized presence within the complex, while Danny just stared blankly at the woman and Dr. T.

The doctor spoke first. "It's alright, men. She's my guest and she outranks all of us, so we'll let her do as she pleases. I would kindly ask if you could all take a break now and let us talk to the subject alone."

Hesitantly, the guys stopped what they were doing and semi-packed up, unhooking all machines and tubes that were connected to Danny. They left unsurely, curiosity and suspicion sitting plainly across their faces.

Once they were gone and the door was shut, Dr. T spoke again.

"Good morning, Danny," he said cheerfully.

Danny grunted a response and frowned. What more torture was this man planning?

The doctor ignored his subject's mood and lack of enthusiasm and continued, "This is my friend, Elizabeth Medley. She works for the CIA and she's come here to talk to you personally."

The woman stepped forward and began to speak.

"Hello, Danny," she stated. "I'll get right to the point. Since yesterday, the entire world has been invaded by ghosts. It is my understanding that a favourite pastime of yours is to get rid of these menaces. I come to you today, humbled and embarrassed that I am unable to protect the world from these terrorists. I only have one request; would you please help us to return the ghosts to the Ghost Zone? In exchange, I am willing… to grant your freedom."

Danny's green eyes bore into hers, dead, tinged with anger, as he replied, "No."

* * *

-(o)-

GLE – wee! Another chapter done! Heh, I hope this is as much fun for you readers as it is for me. I love the line: "He _was_ half-human, after all." It cracked me up every time I had to read over this chapter while editing it, and it was one of those lines that just came out on the spur of the moment while I was writing that section.

Anyways, can you feel the climax coming? There are two more chapters left! Both are going to need some extra planning, but hopefully it won't take me too long to finish them. As I've said before, I really do need to have this done before June 30th. Well, please review; I love to hear your reactions on things and praise just makes me happy!


	10. To Be a Hero

GLE – Heh, I finished this about a week ago, but I've been a bit busy, so I'm posting it now. As usual, I'll keep this author's note rather short and wait till the end of the chapter to chatter on. So, enjoy! And, Happy Canada Day!

-(o)-

Do Superheroes Exist?

Chapter 10: To Be a Hero

"No," his voice echoed hollowly.

"Danny, I don't think you understand the situation," said Ms. Medley flabbergasted. "Your country is depending on you!"

"Ya, well you should have thought of that before you locked me up and tortured me!" yelled Danny. "I'm not a _human_, remember? I have no rights. I also have no obligation to clean up your mess."

Medley frowned, at a loss for words. Dealing with moody teenagers was _not_ part of her job description. She looked to Dr. T for support.

"Danny," began the doctor, "_I_ was the one who said that. You don't have to take it out on Elizabeth. Don't you _want_ to help the innocent people out there who are being attacked _right now_ by ghosts? Don't you _want_ to have the little bit of freedom that Elizabeth promised you?"

Danny stared into his eyes. Dr. T realized his mistake and glanced quickly towards Ms. Medley apologetically.

"So, there is a catch to it after all," stated Danny expressionlessly. "There _is_ some loophole to the so-called freedom you're offering."

"Danny, don't—"

The alarms were suddenly blaring. The lights were flashing and a number of people rushed by the door. A voice crackled through the PA box on the wall.

"Dr. T? You there?" it asked.

The doctor stood hastily and pressed on a button, replying, "Here. What's wrong?"

"The ghost shield's down. Something fell onto it and cancelled the effects completely. We think there's a ghost inside…"

"Understood," responded Dr. T. "Tell the researchers to secure their work and then go look…"

Dr. T froze. The ghost had arrived. He was hovering on the ceiling of the room.

"Look for it, Doctor?" asked the man on the other end of the PA.

The doctor only mumbled, "yes," before releasing his finger from the button.

Elizabeth Medley shrunk into her chair, trying to make herself as tiny as possible. Apart from Danny, she'd never met a ghost face to face before, and especially not one that looked so menacing. Danny was the only one who barely reacted, practically not even acknowledging the presence of another person in the room.

The ghost grinned and spoke.

"Well, well, what kind of party is this?" he asked. "You all look so gloomy."

"What do you want, ghost?" questioned Dr. T. Damn did he wish he had an ectogun on him. But he was a researcher after all, and preferred not to carry any weapons.

"What does it matter to you?" replied the ghost haughtily. "I'm here to speak with a _dear_ friend of mine. Daniel, aren't you going to say hello to your favourite ghost?"

Danny looked up at last, and said in a deadpan voice, "What do you want, Plasmius?" He was so angry with the Guys in White and this woman from the CIA, he _really_ didn't want to have to deal with Vlad on top of it.

"Don't look so overjoyed to see me," responded Vlad sarcastically. "I only came to get you out of here. I thought you'd want that."

"Ya, and what's the catch? You're not one for charity," Danny commented. "Just leave me alone."

Danny's mind was running with images. A group of kids shouting about how much of a show-off he was, an angry man on the tv telling all the viewers how dangerous he was, some guy trying to catch him, the ghosts kicking him out of the Ghost Zone, Dr. T yelling at him for messing up and telling him to start over, a hundred times he heard someone say they didn't want him around… All the tests that had been done on him rushed through his head as well. All the pain he went through. How many tears he'd shed from the torture until his eyes were dry. The way the researchers looked at him, like he was just some sort of lab rat they were experimenting on. Danny closed his eyes, seething. He was thoroughly disgusted with the human race, and ghosts were just as bad.

"I hadn't been worried about you, 'cause I know you're a fighter, Daniel," Vlad stated quietly, more to himself than anyone else. "But maybe I should have also realized that you're still only 14 and this may have been too much for you."

He had figured that they'd all come to their senses soon enough and praise the boy for being a hero all over again. Admittedly, he had also been worried that the boy might talk about him, especially if he was pushed to a point beyond which he'd spill _any _secrets he had left. So to protect his identity, among other reasons, he came here. The boy was cross right now, but a little push in the right direction might help. Vlad decided to give it a try.

"Perhaps I should slaughter them, hm?" he said, indicating Dr. T and Elizabeth Medley, but also suggesting by his tone of voice that he meant the entire facility.

"Go ahead," replied Danny heatedly.

"That doesn't sound like you," said Vlad.

"Doesn't sound like you, either," returned Danny pointedly.

"Daniel, I'm doing this in your best interests. You can be a hero."

"Maybe I don't want to be a hero!" cried Danny, standing up abruptly. "Maybe… I… I don't know what I want!"

"But you _are _a hero, Danny," declared Vlad, making an effort to use the boy's preferred name to get across how serious he was. "Whether these people realize it or not, they _want_ you to watch over them, no matter how much you pester the rest of us, no matter how much they fear you. They worship you too! Don't you feel that you owe it to everyone to act like the hero that you are?"

"I don't owe these people anything!" exclaimed Danny sharply. "Just, shut up and leave, Vlad!"

"Why don't you make me?" said Vlad tauntingly. He needed to get Danny going.

"Fine," replied Danny, eyes flashing brightly, hands lighting with ectoplasm. He shot a couple of blasts towards Vlad who disappeared through the ceiling. Danny was more than happy to let off some steam in a fight with his archenemy. He flew after Plasmius, leaving the doctor and the CIA agent behind.

The fight led them around the building, a set of destroyed labs and offices left in their wake. Danny in particular was quite careless with his aim, and more than once he smiled when he saw a machine that had been used on him get mangled and made unusable. He lost track of Vlad around a corner, and spent several minutes trying to catch up with him again.

Meanwhile, Vlad found his way back to the Medical Center, where Dr. T and Elizabeth Medley were still sitting, dumbstruck. Dr. T had made the connection between the name 'Vlad Plasmius' and the alias 'The Wisconsin Ghost'. The Guys in White had some limited information on him. This most definitely was one of the three ghosts stronger than Danny. The boy had lied a little bit after all. But, it wasn't likely that this was the ghost who helped the boy's friends break into the building. First of all, he _wasn't _friends with Danny and second his entrance today was proof enough – big, effective, and straight to the point, and _not_ something done as secretively as possible. Dr. T looked up when the ghost returned.

"I'm just going to say this once," said Vlad to the doctor in a dangerously quiet tone. "_I'm_ the only one who will have data on the boy, _got it?_"

He proceeded to emphasize his point by trashing most of the Medical Center. He left the computer in the corner untouched, and went to it now, inserting a CD. The CD started up and ran a virus onto the machine, as well as all of its connections, which included the entire network of computers within the complex.

The noise Vlad had made helped Danny locate him again, and he flew into the room in time to see Vlad take off through the wall, Dr. T and Ms. Medley under his arms. For a brief moment, Danny panicked for the sake of the hostages, until it occurred to him who the hostages were. He felt confused by the mix of emotions, and decided that hitting Vlad would make him feel better.

Vlad dropped his baggage off in Danny's cell. Dr. T and Elizabeth Medley fell onto the concrete floor and realized rather quickly that they were trapped. The ghost had already left.

Danny followed Vlad up through the floors and out to the sky. Vlad suddenly stopped and turned to face the boy as he caught up to him.

"I know all about my own powers now, Plasmius," yelled Danny. "I know exactly how fast I can fire off ectoblasts and how much weight can be piled onto me before I break! So just get out of my way unless you want me to destroy you!"

"And then what?" asked Vlad. "Planning to demolish the labs down below? Don't bother. We've already done that."

"You don't get it!" screamed Danny. "You don't know what they did to me!"

"I _get_ it, Daniel," replied Vlad. "You're confused. I'm going to help you find your way."

In one swift motion, Vlad teleported behind Danny and zapped him with the Plasmius Maximus. Danny shifted back to human form immediately and began to fall. Vlad caught him, pulled a set of stolen keys from a pocket, and unlocked the collar that was on Danny's neck, letting it drop down to the Guys in White's base. Danny's eyes were wild. He looked scared, angry, and bewildered all at the same time.

Vlad wasn't going to give him a chance to fight him while he was holding him close, and so he threw the boy up into the air again, yelling orders to someone that Danny hadn't seen in the area until that moment.

The last thing that Danny saw was the Fright Knight charging towards him with his sword, slashing it across his chest.

"Good work," said Plasmius to his minion. "I modified the Maximus too. He'll only be human for an hour, instead of three. Let's get to Amity Park. You'll have him reappear when his nightmare has sunk in a little? It'll be best for him to see how good he really has it after experiencing his worst fears… Which, by the way, I hope are not connected to the experiments he was going through, otherwise, we've just made everything worse."

"I can see his nightmares, Boss," said the Fright Knight while sheathing the Soul Shredder. "They have nothing to do with the experiments."

"Good. Let's get going then."

* * *

The world was in chaos. A lot of people other than Danny were also trapped in their worst nightmares, courtesy of the Fright Knight. Others were being chased out of their homes by ghouls who were laughing their heads off in glee. News crews everywhere were having a hard time making their reports since ghosts attacked them relentlessly too.

"G'day, maites!" said the Australian reporter who'd been in Amity Park the previous week. He was now back in his home country, sitting in his news studio. He tried to exert an air of being laid back, to comfort his viewers. "We're in a bit o' a pickle he-ah, as you probably already know. There's not many places you can run when ghosts are attackin'."

"Ye-es, ghost attacks!" said the Asian commentator. He had barricaded the entire crew into the smallest studio at his station in hopes of not being attacked by another ghost. Several had already destroyed the main newsroom in the building. "Our government say we safest at home and requests all citizens stay put as best as possible."

"Ze American government haz kept quiet about ze location of ze Ghost Boy," stated the blond female reporter. She still held a proud stance, as she had when she'd visited Amity Park. It seemed that whatever the situation, she was a strong woman. "Many European nations are vonderink why he hasn't yet been sent to help ze vorld. Zere is nossink else ve can do right now but hope zat his help comes soon."

"But many people ah wondering h-whether the aid of a 14-year-old half-ghost cahn truly make a difference in this worldwide conflict," announced the reporter from the BBC. The camera crews were having a tough time keeping him in focus as ghosts were dragging him down the street. The BBC correspondent remained unfazed as he continued to read his report with a steady voice. "Is the-ah no othah way to defeat these terrorists?"

"Ghosts are most densely gathered in the States, eh," said the CBC commentator. "As their neighbours to the north, we've also got quite a lot of them rampaging through cities along the border. Heh, probably the safest place in Canada is in the territories at the moment. There have been very few reports of ghosts up there; the only significant one is about a benign ghost in Iqaluit who claims to be looking for friends."

The CNN correspondent was speaking, but no audience could hear him as his audio connections were cut. And shortly, so was the visual. Ghosts were tearing through his studio and there wasn't much anyone could do to defend themselves.

Amity Park's own newscasters were off the air, to say the least. They were planning to give it one more go around noon, but made no promises to the public.

* * *

Danny woke up. He was lying on the ground in some park, except that the park didn't look like it should have. The grass was covered by big blocks of demolished buildings, and glancing around, he could tell that some disaster had happened here. It looked like a war zone. Danny stood up and tried to figure out where he was. About twenty feet away, he could see what remained of the Nasty Burger sign that had been knocked over. It was lying in disrepair next to what must have been the Nasty Burger itself. The remnants of the building were devastating.

Danny wanted to call out, but was worried that whatever had destroyed this place might still be lurking somewhere nearby. He had an uneasy feeling that he didn't want to know what had done this. And another sinking feeling within him told him that this was déjà-vu.

He began to walk, but quickly stumbled into a large stone that he hadn't seen a moment before. Looking down at it, he realized it was a tombstone. When he read the names, his stomach gave an uneasy lurch. It was his entire family. His mom, his dad, and even Jazz were…

No! They couldn't be dead! They were fine, weren't they? They could fight against ghosts, couldn't they? Amity Park wasn't hit _that_ badly, was it?

A sharp noise to his right caught his attention. It was Tucker. He was calling out to him. His leg was trapped by some bricks of some sort and the building next to him was crumbling. FentonWorks was falling down on him!

Danny sped towards him, but he couldn't make it in time. Before his eyes he saw his friend be buried alive. All that was still visible of Tucker was his hand. It was writhing. By the time Danny kneeled down next to it, it had stopped moving completely. A small pool of blood was streaming out from under the wreckage.

Tears prickled behind his eyes. This was real. His family _was_ dead. And now he'd just lost his best friend. There was a pain so deep in his chest that he'd never known he could feel. The loss was so profound it was ripping apart his insides as he asked the question, "why?" _Why had this happened?_

Deep down he knew the truth, but he wasn't ready to face it. A familiar voice pulled him away from his thoughts.

"Danny!"

It was Sam. She was running towards him, concerned for him. She started to smile, happy to see that he was alright, that he was still alive. But her smile turned into confusion and hurt as an ectoblast hit her square in her stomach. She flew backwards and landed on the ground. Danny hurried towards her. He was standing over her when another ectoblast hit her. This one was more powerful than the last and it crushed her body down until the light from her eyes disappeared. The ectoblast was still concentrated on her. Danny couldn't understand why it was still turning his friend's body into dust until he realized that the perpetrator of the ectoblast hadn't stopped firing. The firing ended abruptly.

Danny lifted his hands shakily to his face and stared at them disbelievingly. He looked down at Sam's frail form. _No_. The panic was rising in his chest like never before. _No, no!_ His whole body was shaking with suppressed emotion. _No. NO. NOO!_ There was a howl coming from the back of his throat. The truth hit him like a freight train going full speed into a crowded school bus. _He_ had killed Sam with _his own hands_!

His scream manifested itself as the ghostly wail. He turned away from Sam's body to let it out and found himself destroying the last part of Amity Park that was still standing. People's shrieks of fear came to his ears as they tried to hurry away. His ghostly wail consumed them all, but he couldn't stop it. He _wouldn't_ stop it.

He fell to his knees, unable to cry, and sat there for some time in silence. It was the sound of someone approaching that brought him back to reality. He turned to face the newcomer and found himself staring into his own eyes. The person was holding a mirror towards him.

Danny couldn't look away. He was terrifying. He was in ghost form, but he looked more menacing than usual. His green eyes had a red tint to them. His smile was wicked, teeth appearing rather pointy. He licked his lips, bloodthirsty, the desire to kill more humans clear. Danny understood his reflection _very_ well. He could feel a part of him hoping that Dr. T wasn't dead yet, that he'd have the pleasure of returning the torture. It scared him to know he could think this way.

"Happy with what you see?" asked the person who was holding the mirror.

Danny didn't need to look up to know who it was. As he stared into the face of his future self, no words came to his lips.

"Isn't it fantastic what you've done to Amity Park!" said Dan Phantom approvingly. "And there's so much more that I've accomplished, that you _will_ accomplish! Look at this world! It's ripe for your taking! Why don't you shed your human self already and become me?"

Danny shook his head nervously. He didn't want to have to face his older evil self again. He thought he'd dealt with that already, that he'd changed that timeline, that he _wouldn't_ ever turn into _that_.

Danny backed away and said quietly, "There might be people who still need me… to protect them from ghosts." At the same time, he thought, _But will I be able to live without my family? Without Sam and Tucker?_ Sadness dug a pit in his stomach and the idea of 'shedding his human emotions' crossed his mind. But that's what the ghost in front of him did. A mistake that he didn't want to repeat. Was he heading down that path now?

"Don't you see you're better without them?" said Dan. "Are you blind to how much they loathe you?"

It was true. At this moment, the few survivors from Danny's ghostly wail on Amity Park were peeking their heads around debris and glancing fearfully towards him, hatred burning in their eyes. Not one of them looked at all willing to trust him ever again.

Dan smiled. He pulled a person from behind his back and dropped him at Danny's feet. Dr. T gazed up into Danny's eyes, begging mercy silently.

"They tortured you," stated Dan. "_He_ tortured you."

Danny nodded slowly. He wouldn't deny that.

"Your family and friends are gone," continued Dan. "Nothing matters anymore. You are a ghost. Feel your power. Set yourself free! You will become me and all of this will be yours. Wait'll you see their faces when you destroy everything, when it all goes up in flames. It's exhilarating!"

Yes, it might be nice to just let loose. Especially with Dr. T at his feet. But… but… There was a 'but'. He'd made a promise. Sometime in the past, before all hell broke loose and his secret was revealed, he'd made a promise. He'd made a promise to never become _that_.

Danny shook his head. He didn't want to break his promise.

"Oh, stop being such a child!" said Dan in irritation. "Just let go, already! Give into the darkness that becomes you! It's the best thing that'll ever happen in your life – and death."

"No," said Danny.

"No?" asked Dan blankly. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

"No," repeated Danny, this time more firmly. A fire had lit somewhere in his heart. He just realized that all of this was his worst nightmare. Becoming that older, evil self was the last thing he ever wanted to see happen in his life. It pained him to think that it took him losing all the people who were most important to him to figure this out. But it was to those same people that he'd made this promise, and even if it only made a little bit of a difference, he intended to spend the rest of his life honoring his promise. It would be very lonely without his loved ones, but maybe he could find them whenever he looked into himself and saw that the promise was still being kept.

"No," said Danny a third time. "I will _never_ become _you_."

"You don't know what you're talking about," said Dan. "It's too late, you _are_ me."

The jolt of fear from those words only shook Danny for an instant. "No," he said again. "I'm _not_."

Danny started to fall. Everything around him became black as wind whipped by him. Suddenly he became aware that his eyes were closed, so he opened them. He was sitting in Casper Park, the Fright Knight towering over him, sword pointed at his chest.

Danny immediately jumped up and took a defensive position. But the Fright Knight lowered his weapon, and spoke.

"It has been an hour," he informed. "You should be able to return to your ghost form. I hope that you enjoyed your nightmare."

The Fright Knight hopped onto his winged horse and took off. Danny had barely registered what he'd said and asked him feebly to wait, but the ghost was gone.

Danny looked around. The park was deserted, but otherwise intact. He was back in his home city. _It was a dream. It was all a dream. None of it was real._ Danny's relief was so tremendous he felt like crying. He lowered his head and took a deep, steadying breath.

He remembered what had happened. He had been so angry. He'd been in a room full of the last people he'd ever want to spend time with: Dr. T, Vlad, and that CIA woman. He realized now that it would have been very easy for him then to follow the path towards becoming the evil figment of his imagination who he'd just dreamt about. But somehow that nightmare hadn't ended badly at all. He felt stronger. He felt like he had a purpose. That he'd rekindled the emotions that he'd lost in the lab. He _wanted_ to help people again. Even if they'd just turn around and mock him, or yell at him for not doing it properly, or continue to dislike him despite it.

He could hear people's screams in the distance. His ghost sense had gone off a few times as he stood there, but he only noticed now. It was time for their hero to return.

* * *

School was cancelled and the building closed due to all the ghost attacks at Casper High. For the first time in his life, Mr. Lancer wasn't bothered by this. And instead of spending his time cowering at home, he was sitting on the patio outside the Nasty Burger with many of his students, the signs from their protest on Saturday lying on the tables in front of them. They were planning to redouble their efforts. They wanted Danny Phantom back, _and now_.

This was a dangerous undertaking, since one ghost had already claimed the _inside_ of the Nasty Burger, and many other ghosts kept flying by. Mr. Lancer suspected that the abandoned FentonWorks had a role to play in the invasion of these paranormal pests, but didn't dare get close enough to it to find out.

They were just discussing the possibility of taking a trip to Washington D.C. when a black and white blur sped by them. It took Mr. Lancer a moment to realize what he was seeing.

"Danny?" he asked.

The blur had gone into the fast food joint and was currently evicting the Lunch Lady ghost that had occupied it. Danny turned to face Mr. Lancer and his classmates through the window. He'd heard his teacher say his name. The class erupted into cheers.

Danny looked surprised, as he had when he had shown up at school to fight the mermaid ghost and they'd cheered him on then too. Mr. Lancer grinned to see his student alive and well. Danny smiled briefly in gratitude and turned his attention back to the Lunch Lady.

"You know, this would be so much easier if I had a Fenton Thermos," stated Danny to himself.

"Never fear! Friar Tuck is here!" called his best friend, bursting through the doors of the joint. Jazz was right behind him.

"Tucker! Jazz!" exclaimed Danny. "Man, am I glad to see you!"

"Never mind that now," said Jazz. "Tucker, give him the thermos."

Tucker obeyed and tossed the thermos to his best friend. Danny caught it, kicked the Lunch Lady, then sucked her into the container.

"Thanks," said Danny. He landed and rushed forwards to hug them. Tucker and Jazz hugged back. Danny wanted to hold onto them for a long time, but knew he still had work to do. As he let go, a thought struck him and he asked, "How'd you find me so fast?"

"Dad gave me the ghost tracking device that's still honed in on your signature," informed Jazz. "The Guys in White came by about half an hour ago with all the Fenton products they'd confiscated from us. Said they wanted us to use them to get rid of the ghosts. Dad demanded to know where you were, but all they said was that they didn't know. Something about you leaving? They didn't seem sure about anything, but they looked upset by something and their clothes were in terrible shape, as if they'd been near an explosion."

Danny smiled weakly. "Yep, that sounds about right."

Danny's ghost sense went off again and his demeanor changed.

"I've gotta go," he said. But before he took off, he glanced around and asked, "Where's Sam?"

"Dunno," said Tucker. "Her family wasn't home."

Danny frowned in thought. He felt concerned for her whereabouts, but he couldn't let himself worry right now. The image of her body being blasted by his own hands briefly flashed before his eyes and he shook it off, feeling confident that as long as _he_ wasn't the one attacking her, she would be just fine.

Danny floated up a few feet off the ground. He looked down at Jazz and Tucker and commented, "If either of you can think of a way to speed up this process, I'll be glad to hear it. I dunno how I'm going to get to the countries overseas in one day… Oh, and make sure the Ghost Portal is locked."

"Already done," said Tucker. "Jazz just locked it before coming here. You don't have to worry about more ghosts coming through."

"That's a relief," sighed Danny, and he flew out of the Nasty Burger through the roof. His classmates and teacher cheered once again, and he took off towards the school.

* * *

Danny rushed around the town, gathering up as many ghosts as he could in his thermos. He felt somewhat lucky that so far he'd only run into the weaker ones. He knew that his parents and Tucker and Jazz were also out hunting ghosts, but it still seemed like an impossible task to send them all back to the Ghost Zone. The people of Amity Park were more than happy to see him back, and he'd received several shouts of praise as he flew by. Lance Thunder gave him a big grin when he thermosed the Box Ghost and he swung an arm around his shoulders, pulling him in front of the camera and exclaiming how great it was that the town hero had returned.

Danny's first big problem that he ran into before leaving Amity Park was the upgraded Technus 3.0. He was as massive as ever, bulked up by all sorts of technology, and causing a lot of damage to the downtown core like a tank blasting everything out of its way. Danny spent quite a while fighting him. He finally succeeded by overshadowing Technus (something he thought he'd never do), and taking apart the hunk of junk before leaving Technus and then sucking him into a thermos.

He had a few more scuffles, saved some screaming people, and heard a lot of praise. It was a bit tough; he hadn't fought this many ghosts in one day since the Pariah Dark incident, and he felt that by the end of today, he'd break that record. But, for every person that he helped, a warm feeling stirred within him that he hadn't felt in quite a while. He knew now that with that warmth, the stamina he needed to keep going would be there.

With Cujo, Danny thought he'd got the last ghost in town. He flew towards the highway and stopped, hovering at the outskirts of the city. He stared at the open road before him, seeing it as a never-ending stretch. Amity Park was safe, but out there, around the world, a lot of people were terrified. He needed something. _Something_. Like a jetpack. Ya, a jetpack would be nice.

And it just so happened that a couple of jetpacks were coming his way. Operatives K and O were flying towards him from Amity Park, a number of citizens in their wake. They lowered their speed and dropped to the ground in front of Danny.

"Danny Phantom," addressed Operative K. "You are the only ectosignature left in this region."

"You may proceed to the next town," stated Operative O. "We will accompany you and continue to send ghosts back to the Ghost Zone."

Danny looked between the two operatives incredulously. They weren't seriously thinking that this was the best way to deal with the ghosts, were they? At least they weren't attacking him or trying to bring him in again. Danny guessed that they'd probably been given orders not to. In any case…

"I've got a better idea," Danny announced. "Hand me your jetpack."

Operative O hesitated, glancing at his partner before saying, "How will this improve the situation?"

"Your jetpacks can reach speeds much faster than my fastest, and I won't be wasting any energy flying from place to place," said Danny. "But I'll need something else… A bazooka. I need a Fenton Bazooka for this job."

"Glad we came, then," asserted Valerie.

She had just arrived on her hoverboard. Sam stood behind her with one hand on Valerie's waist to steady herself, and in the other, she held the weapon Danny wanted.

"Sam! Valerie!" exclaimed Danny, surprised. "You – You're together!" he articulated.

"Long story," said Sam.

Danny continued to stare disbelievingly and the two girls tried hard not to laugh.

"Anyways," Sam continued. "Here's the Bazooka." She tossed it down to Danny. "We actually just got it back. Do you really think this will work?"

"I'm not sure," replied Danny. "But I think it's our best shot. There's a lot of people to save."

"Danny!"

Everyone turned to face the newcomers. Jack and Maddie Fenton were speeding towards them in the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle. A number of citizens were also closing in on their location.

Jack jumped out of the RV and bounded towards his son.

"Take this," he said, shoving an object into Danny's hands. "And be careful."

Danny inspected the object. It was an Ecto-Converter.

"Your mother and I made another one after the last one got stolen," informed Jack. "You can use your powers to charge it and then make use of the converted energy in a weapon or something."

"Or a jetpack!" said Danny excitedly. "Thanks, Dad. This is really helpful!"

"You're welcome," responded Jack. "And Danny? … I'm proud of you, Son."

"Thanks," smiled Danny.

"Go get 'em, Danny," said Sam encouragingly.

"Here," said Operative O, unclipping his jetpack and handing it over to Danny. He wavered a moment, downcast his eyes and mumbled admittedly, "You were always the better ghost hunter…"

Danny took the item and nodded appreciatively. He then attached the Ecto-Converter to the power module of the jetpack and put some energy into it. When he activated the personal flight vehicle, the flames at the bottom flared out to several times their regular size. The extra boost from the converter would definitely do the trick. Danny lifted off the ground, holding the Bazooka to his chest.

The Amity Park citizens had finally caught up to the Guys in White, Valerie and Sam, and the Fentons, and formed a circle around them, below where Danny was slowly rising. Everyone was cheering.

Danny lifted his free hand uncertainly and gave a short wave, then placed it on the controls for the jetpack, pressed a button, and took off.

He was flying faster than ever, his hometown disappearing in a whirl of colours before he even had a chance to look back. Everything in front of him sped by so quickly, he wasn't sure that he wouldn't pass a ghost and not even realize it.

Something started to beep on the control that he was holding, and a second later his ghost sense went off. He glanced down at the controls and found a screen pointing him in the direction of the new ectosignature. His ectosignature was there too, but next to it he could see the word "Ignore". Operative O must have inputted that command when he'd arrived at Amity Park.

Danny slowed down, followed the arrow, and found the ghost. It was a large blob of green, towering above him at a staggering 18 feet tall. Danny was glad he didn't have to deal with fighting it. He fired the Fenton Bazooka and the ghost was sucked into the mini-portal.

"Have a nice trip!" Danny called after it, then hurried on to the next place.

He was glad that things were going so well. He made it through the United States at record pace, saving his country from the terror hold that the ghosts had over them. He recognized a few of his regular customers spread out around the States, most notably, Johnny 13 and Kitty who had made it to Hollywood.

He was exasperated to find Vlad's Vulture Ghosts hanging out in the Caribbean.

"What? Can't we have a vacation?" one asked him before whirling away in the mini-portal Danny had fired at him.

Danny was glad when he stopped Desiree in South America. Her twisted wishes were running amuck.

Hotep Ra had made it back to Egypt. The mummy ghost was using an arsenal of sphinxes as his ammo, courtesy of the location. A number of ghost cats acted as his body guards, hissing and clawing at anyone who tried to get near their master. Danny sent the lot of them back to the Ghost Zone, and stopped for a moment, trying to figure out how to get the sphinxes back in place, but giving up when the ghost alarm went off again.

Danny found several other familiar faces across the globe, along with hundreds of ghosts he'd never seen before. Among those he knew, Skulker was skulking in South Africa, Ember was crashing in Vienna, Austria, Spectra and Bertrand were having a tea party of misery in England, Prince Aragon had conquered Eastern Europe, the Ghost Writer was writing in Japan, Youngblood was playing in New Zealand, and Klemper was failing to make friends in Iqaluit, Nunavut territory, Canada.

"I feel like Santa," Danny commented to himself. "Going around the world in less than a day, bringing smiles to people's faces." He chuckled. "It feels good, doesn't it?"

He could barely believe that that morning he'd been so dead set on not helping his government liberate the world from ghosts. Well, he still wanted nothing to do with helping _them_. But he couldn't imagine any better feeling than what he was getting from saving innocent people right now. Everyone welcomed him so easily and cheered when he flew through their towns and cities.

It was a completely different experience from what he'd felt last week, when he saw all those angry faces on the television saying they wanted to keep him away from their children, like a dangerous delinquent. Or from the torturous experiments he'd been through this past weekend… He stopped his train of thought there. Focusing on _that_ would only bring down his good mood, so he let it go for now.

Danny returned to Amity Park. He was intent on finding someone who had information about the ongoing battle he was in. Had he finished it? Had he missed any ghosts? What should he do now? He landed outside FentonWorks and looked up at the building. Had his parents returned here? Or were all qualified ghost hunters out searching for more ghosts?

A sudden ectoblast caught his attention and Danny whipped around to face it as his ghost sense went off and the alarm on the jetpack rang.

"Look out!" cried Dani. She'd been the one to fire, knocking the Fright Knight away from Danny. The Fright Knight was mid-swing, and due to Dani's shot, he brought his sword down at a different angle than what he'd meant to do. Instead of cutting Danny, he got the Fenton Bazooka, slicing it in half.

Danny dropped the broken weapon and jumped backwards. Danielle fired at the Fright Knight again, but he dodged it this time.

"Thanks," said Danny, joining her side.

"No problem," replied Dani. "A lot of people were saying that their friends hadn't returned. I'd heard of the Fright Knight when I was heading through the Ghost Zone to your parent's portal with all the other ghosts. I figured it was because of him, so I went looking for him. Found him at that creepy house on Maple Street and chased him here."

"Good job," commended Danny, impressed. "But, why were you in the Ghost Zone? You didn't follow me, did you?"

"No," answered Dani. "I was with your friends. They gave me the Bazooka… well, I'll tell you about it later."

"Yeah," agreed Danny. "It looks like I can't finish this off without a fight. Dani, I don't know where you're going to find one at this time of year, but please get me a pumpkin. It's the only way we'll be able to get those people out of their nightmares, unless the Fright Knight is willing to let them go for free."

Dani nodded and took off. Danny turned his attention back to the Fright Knight who'd raised his sword towards the sky and had begun a swirl of green around himself.

"You aren't willing to just let them go for free, are you?" Danny asked him, just to make sure.

"No," responded the Fright Knight, incredulous. "You think I would give up this power so easily? I am going to reshape the world into a devastating myriad of nightmares! No one will feel safe ever again! Why don't _you_ take on your human form so I can let you visit your fears once more?"

"Pass," said Danny dryly.

He moved forwards and fired an ectoblast at the Soul Shredder. The Fright Knight evaded the attack, but in doing so, disengaged the sword from the green swirl, allowing the sky to return to normal. Danny had a few more passes at the Fright Knight, who fought back by swinging the Soul Shredder at the ghost teen. Then Danny landed and questioned, "So why did you let me go in the first place? You already had me in a nightmare, thanks to Plasmius."

"Orders," replied the Fright Knight simply. "But once I have gained enough power, I won't have to follow orders ever again! Mwahahaha!"

The Fright Knight pointed his sword at the sky again and the green spiral took shape, faster and bigger than last time. It seemed his excited energy poured into the Soul Shredder's magic. Several sparks shot down and turned anything they touched into living nightmares. A lamppost caught fire and started to hop towards Danny. A car turned into a monster and bared its teeth at the boy. A pigeon became a pterodactyl and flew circles around Danny, waiting to strike its prey. The Fright Knight continued to laugh in triumph.

Danny took the opportunity to dodge the pterodactyl's dive, fly past the flaming lamppost, and go intangible through the monster car to drive towards the Fright Knight and latch onto the sword in his hands. The Fright Knight's laughter died in his throat. He struggled against the child on his arms. In a test of strength, the Fright Knight had the advantage, but Danny wouldn't give up.

The pterodactyl was coming around for another try at Danny and in that moment, Danny's senses snapped to attention. The pterodactyl was speeding towards him, reminding him of a barrage of ectoblasts. The Fright Knight and Soul Shredder were like several planks of weight that Danny had to hold onto.

Danny let go of the sword with one hand, but gripped onto it even tighter with the other. In the free hand he formed a ball of ectoplasm and placed it between himself and the Fright Knight. The Fright Knight uttered a noise of surprise as Danny's ectoball expanded and pushed them apart. The pterodactyl came crashing into the two, but Danny had gone intangible. Danny's ectoball exploded as the pterodactyl impacted with the Fright Knight. Danny fell backwards, crushing the jetpack into the ground, and the Soul Shredder flew into the air, breaking the green vortex from the sky once again, and arcing towards him. Danny extended his arms and caught the sword with his fingers.

He dropped the broken jetpack from his back and pulled out his thermos quickly, deciding to just take the Fright Knight before any more damage was done. He'd deal with freeing people from their nightmares once he got hold of a pumpkin. Although, releasing the Fright Knight from the thermos would also release the other ghosts he'd caught earlier, Danny thought it was worth it for now.

But before he even uncapped the thermos, his ghost sense went off again. Danny's stomach sank when he saw Plasmius flying to join them. Plasmius blasted the burning lamppost apart to land where it had been hopping.

"Fright Knight," said Vlad, walking towards him and incinerating the demonic car with his eye lasers. "It's all well and good that you had your fun, but what use is a minion to me who gets himself locked away?"

The Fright Knight stood up from where he'd fallen, brushing the ashes from the explosion off his clothing. The pterodactyl had reverted to a pigeon and got the heck away from the vicinity as quickly as it could. The Fright Knight looked towards his master, trying to understand what he meant. Vlad inclined his head towards Danny and the Fright Knight comprehended, seeing the thermos in the boy's hand.

"And I certainly don't want to hear that you were planning to gain more power than me," stated Vlad lightly.

The Fright Knight remained silent. Danny stood, sword in one hand, thermos in the other, watching the exchange between his two enemies.

"Give me that," said Vlad, reaching over and taking the Soul Shredder from Danny. He pulled out a pumpkin and thrust the sword into it. The Fright Knight screamed in protest as, in a whirl of green, he got sucked in. Vlad held the pumpkin out in front of him and said, "I'll deal with you later."

A large number of people suddenly popped out of nowhere and landed on the street around the two halfas. Some of them moaned in relief of being freed from their worst fears. Others just sat there stunned. A few stood up and started to laugh. Then a general buzz of conversation rose up, followed by a bit of a hush as the people realized that Danny Phantom was in their midst.

Vlad Plasmius hovered a few feet off the ground, pumpkin under his arm as he looked down on Danny and said, "And this is my cue to leave. See you around, Daniel."

Danny just stared as his archenemy flew away.

Then, the commotion really got started. Amity Park citizens found their way to FentonWorks, outside of which the Ghost Boy was standing. The news crews came, and the police officers came, and Danny's classmates and teachers came. Danny left the ground, escaping the crowd for his rooftop, where he perched himself and welcomed the ovation people were giving him. He was sure now that the Fright Knight was the last of the ghosts.

Danny spotted his family and friends down below and headed to them. He landed a few feet away from them and a microphone was immediately shoved in his face. He didn't want to deal with interviews right now. He was still trying to get the full day's events straight in his mind. He brushed the microphone aside and walked towards his loved ones, getting pulled into a big hug with his parents.

His mother lifted her mouth towards his ear and whispered, "Welcome home, Danny."

* * *

-(o)-

GLE – Whee! One chapter left! But, before I post it, I'd love to get around 15-20 reviews. My goal for this story is to get 200 reviews (or more) total. I'm about halfway through the last chapter in terms of writing it, and I don't have any homework yet, so it's possible that I will finish it before next year.

Speaking of school stuff, I've now gone to my first class and met everyone! There are 12 of us (well, 13, but we don't know what happened to the last guy… he showed up for orientation, started a facebook group for all of us, then disappeared off the map). There's only 3 girls (I'm one of them). The teachers seem cool, and the coursework looks fantastic. It's going to be an awesome year! Heh, I should probably refrain from babbling on about this… it could go on for quite some time…

Random thoughts about this chapter: Is it really possible to get around the world in a day and still have time to discuss it afterwards? Well, let's just imagine those were hyper super-powered jetpacks (thanks to the Ecto-Converter and Danny's amazing power level). I figure it's not too unbelievable for the realm of fiction in which this story is set. Danny _did_ make it beyond the thermosphere at some point (in _Flirting With Disaster_).

Just a little side note, TexasDreamer01 correctly guessed back in her review for chapter 8 that Dan Phantom would be involved. Heh, he wasn't physically there, but he did play an important role nonetheless.

Also, I want to thank Esme for helping once again in "translating" the news reporters' dialects from their various backgrounds. It was fun, as always!

Wow, this is back on track in terms of length for a chapter – it's one of my longer ones. Well, I'm gonna end my blathering here. Please review and share your thoughts on this story!


	11. Reintegration

GLE – Welcome to the final chapter of DSE! I apologize for taking this long to update – I honestly thought I'd update it at the beginning of July… but I got stuck halfway through this chapter and had no idea how to sum everything up. I'm happy with this result, so, please go ahead and read! And enjoy!

-(o)-

Do Superheroes Exist?

Chapter 11: Reintegration

"Come here, little brother," said Jazz, reaching over and pulling him away from their parents to glomp him. "I'm so glad that you're alright. I'm sorry we weren't able to get you out sooner; we kinda messed up on that."

"It's alright, everything worked out, didn't it?" reassured Danny. "But, don't tell me you actually tried to rescue me?"

Jazz blushed, backing away and said, "Well, it would've worked if you'd been where you were supposed to be!"

Danny blinked, surprised, then his face split into a big grin.

"At least I got to prove my skills as a super-hacker," commented Tucker, joining in. "You shoulda seen me break those codes, Danny."

Danny smirked, "Still brilliant with a PDA in your hands, eh?"

"Ya, but don't tell the Guys in White," mentioned Tucker. "They still think it was a ghost who did all the hacking. There are some crimes not worth taking credit for… especially when you get arrested."

"So let me get this straight," said Danny. "You guys broke into the lab where I was being held, got caught, and blamed it on a ghost?"

"Yes," replied Jazz. "Well, we _did_ break in with a ghost, but they have no idea who it was since we sent her to the Ghost Zone with the Fenton Bazooka."

"Her…?" prompted Danny.

"Dani," answered Jazz. "She was a big help. We couldn't have gotten as far as we did without her."

"It's just unlucky that they got apprehended," stated Jack. "We had to pay a little fine for their breaking and entering."

"Really?" said Danny. "Yeah, I wouldn't put it past them to do that. But after what they did to me…" Danny trailed off into silence.

"Oh, I'm just so glad to have my children back!" Maddie exclaimed to fill the void. "First thing I'm doing when we get inside is to call the social services and tell them I've taken custody of Jazz again and I'm not letting her go."

"You're right, Maddie!" agreed Jack. "They wouldn't listen to us at City Hall, but now that Danny's a hero, they'd better listen! Or else."

"A lot happened while I was gone, huh?" said Danny.

"Ya, but we'll catch you up on all the details later," responded Jazz. "It looks like someone's here to talk to you."

Jazz grabbed her brother by the shoulders and turned him around. Danny was facing his shorter, younger, female clone in her human form. He realized that he was still a ghost and detransformed as well. Jazz, his parents, and Tucker decided to back away and give them some space. Tucker spotted his parents walking towards the crowd and headed over to them. The Fentons decided to open up FentonWorks and survey the damage. The crowd was formed around the reporters on the street who were broadcasting the recent events excitedly. There were some people looking curiously at Danny on the edge of the throng, but he paid them no mind, and they were adequately respectful to give him enough room to reunite with his loved ones.

"Sorry I couldn't find you a pumpkin," Dani apologized.

"Don't worry about it," stated Danny. "I got it handled."

"Heh, ya, I figured you did when the green light show stopped. I heard the crowd and I came back," she informed.

"Dani, thank you for everything you did this past week," said Danny, hugging her. "I dunno what I would've done without you. And thanks for trying to break me out, I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome!" Dani replied cheerfully. "Aw, you know I'd do anything for you, cousin!"

"Heh. Well thanks all the same."

Danny stood smiling down at her a moment, then said thoughtfully, "You know, I don't think I'm used to seeing you in human mode as often as I am your ghost mode."

"Oh, well… I _do_ prefer ghost mode, but…" Dani paused. "There are a _lot_ of ghost hunters around right now, and I think this is the best way to avoid them. I'm _not_ full ghost, after all."

"Ha!" laughed Danny. "Man, I didn't even consider that! Smart tactics, Dani! So you only became a ghost back there with the Fright Knight to help me?"

"Yep!" exclaimed Dani. "And I was human the rest of the time since I came back from the Ghost Zone."

"Good girl," Danny approved. "Hey, when this all dies down, wanna go play the arcade sometime?"

"Sure!" said Dani. "Well, I'm gonna head off now. See you around."

Dani turned and began to run through the throng, giggling. Danny was confused about her sudden departure until he noticed a certain black-haired teen in the corner of his vision.

"Sam!" said Danny, spinning to face her.

She smiled and walked towards him. Danny hesitated for an instant, then embraced her tightly and lifted her clear off the ground. Sam blushed but was not opposed to his hug. Danny put her down and let go of her, beaming. He couldn't feel embarrassed; he'd been through too much this past week and he felt he deserved a little freedom. He couldn't explain why he was so happy to see her, in particular, but he wouldn't deny himself of any joy – not now, anyways.

After a moment, Danny said, "I was worried for a little bit. Jazz and Tucker said they couldn't find you or your family. But then you showed up with Valerie, so I knew you were ok."

"Heh, ya, that must've been a sight for you," Sam chuckled. "But you know – I can't believe I'm saying this – you knew best after all. Val's alright."

Danny blinked in shock. "I can't believe I'm hearing this. You _are_ Sam, _aren't you_?"

Sam laughed wholeheartedly. "Yes, of course I am. I guess when you actually get to know someone, things change. She was a real asset to us when we tried to rescue you and she's not going to try to kill you ever again. She's accepted your other half. I guess I can accept her."

"She tried to break me out, too?" said Danny. "Remind me to thank her the next time I see her."

"Okay, Danny," responded Sam. "Well, I guess since you were worried, I should explain. My parents were freaking out with all the ghost attacks. They wanted somewhere safe to hide. I didn't have any ghost weapons anymore, but I remembered Valerie mentioning in lock-up that she had some spares she'd left behind. My parents were getting a bit hysterical, so I called her up. Her dad invited my family over right away – he said they had some shield thing that the Guys in White gave him sometime last week. Well, that satisfied my parents and it allowed me access to an ectogun. Val and I teamed up to fight the ghosts. We ran into Dani before meeting up with you. She was in her human form and the Fenton Bazooka was a little too big for her to handle, so she passed it onto us. And… you know the rest."

"Ya, well, I'm glad you're alright," stated Danny. Again, he pictured the part of his nightmare where he killed Sam. Shuddering, he solidified his promise in his mind. He would _never_, _ever_ let himself become that evil version of himself. Along with this vow, he pledged a new oath; to never hurt these people. He would never hurt Sam, or Tucker, or his family, or anyone who mattered to him. This was a commitment.

"You're glad I'm alright?" Sam scoffed. "Danny, if anything, I'm so happy to see that you're smiling. I… we read the list of things they were experimenting on you. It-it must have been awful."

Danny lowered his gaze, a small frown forming on his lips. He had been putting this out of his mind all day. But now that everything was over, now that he was safe and standing here with Sam, would it be ok for him to reflect on what had happened? Danny sighed, closing his eyes. Slowly, he let the memories of this stressful week enter his thoughts.

Sam watched her friend silently. She wanted to give him enough room to express his emotions, so she was going to wait until he spoke first. But after a few moments, Danny began to tremble and Sam couldn't hold back.

"Danny?" she asked softly, placing her hands onto his arms.

Danny lifted his head, connecting his stare with hers, his blue eyes watery. On impulse, Sam pulled him into her arms, allowing his weight to shift onto her small frame. Danny rested his chin on her shoulder, his whole body shaking. Sam felt a familiar tingling sensation as Danny turned them both invisible. The halfa was finally free to let go of all his pent up emotions. He held Sam close, burying his face into the crook of her neck. Sam gently caressed the back of his head and whispered tender words of encouragement.

They stood like that for quite some time until Danny felt that he was finally released from his strife. He wiped his eyes as he lifted his head and gave Sam a little space, but still held onto her with his other hand. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

"It's ok," said Sam.

"Nn," stuttered Danny. He cleared his throat and reiterated, "I mean, no. I… Thank you, Sam."

"You're more than welcome, Danny," replied Sam, smiling sincerely.

Danny paused, then smiled as well and released Sam at the same time as returning them both to visibility.

"Sammykins!" called Pam Manson, approaching the two teens. "I've been looking everywhere for you! You're not hurt, are you? We were so concerned…"

The woman trailed off as she arrived. Her husband was walking quickly from a different direction, catching up with her at Sam and Danny's position. Pam surveyed the two teens in front of her, eyes lingering on the half-ghost. Danny blinked, expressionless. He wasn't sure how Sam's mother felt about him, but he knew that whatever she was thinking, he could handle it.

Sam on the other hand was a little nervous about this confrontation. Shifting her weight, she said, "I'm alright, Mom, as you can see."

"Good," stated Pam in a tone that said 'well-I-still-want-to-check-for-myself'. But instead of pressing the point, she turned to Danny and commented approvingly, "You did an excellent job today of ridding the world of ghosts. Keep up the good work."

Sam's jaw dropped in shock. "Mom?" she asked.

"Yes, Sammykins?"

"Uh, you, I mean, um…" Sam stammered. "You're saying all that to _Danny_, right?"

"Of course," replied Pam and she shifted her eyes from her daughter back onto Danny. "He is a hero, after all." She smiled, "And, I think he means well." She turned to face Sam once again. "And I know that my daughter is a smart, young woman who can make good choices when it comes to friends."

Sam was speechless, but she expressed her gratitude by hugging her mother. There was finally a truce between the Mansons.

Pam let go of Sam after a moment and said to Danny, "Thank you for being such a good friend to Sam." Lowering her voice, she added, "But, try your best to keep both of you out of trouble, alright?"

"I will," assured Danny.

"Sam! Danny!"

It was Valerie. She and her father were breaking away from the crowd to join them. The two teens smiled and greeted her while Sam's parents welcomed Damon Gray into the group. From a distance, two onlookers watched as the six people chatted among themselves.

"Ah, it's nice to see the happy reunion," declared Plasmius. He wiped a fake tear from his eye sarcastically.

"Yes, Master," said the Fright Knight.

"It seems that everything has worked out after all," stated Vlad, a little more seriously. "You delivered a good performance today. Well done."

"Thank you, Master," responded the Fright Knight. "I am pleased to serve you."

The two ghosts watched as the young halfa was shaking hands with Valerie. The teens were chuckling as they did this exchange. Sam smiled slyly and spoke. Danny quickly raised his hands in defense and then began to rub the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. The three of them appeared to be enjoying themselves well.

"He could become more powerful than you one day," commented the Fright Knight without thinking.

"I know. He probably will," replied Vlad lightly. "He's got a lot of spunk, the Little Badger… Which is why it'd be nice to have him as an ally, wouldn't it?"

"O-of course, Boss," agreed the Fright Knight.

"Well, we should be getting back to Wisconsin," announced Vlad. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done, as always."

The Fright Knight nodded and followed Plasmius as they left. Danny and his friends continued to chat, unaware that they had been observed by Vlad and his minion.

"So, you wanna join Team Phantom?" asked Sam to Valerie, extending the invitation.

"Well… I am used to fighting on my own, but… I guess it's better when you're in a team," replied Valerie. "Sure, I'll join. If that's alright with you, Danny."

"Of course," said Danny. "Heh, but Jazz will probably try to organize all of it, if you're ok with that."

Valerie snickered, "That's fine. I think she did a good job at getting your rescue mission off the ground. It's just too bad we didn't succeed."

"Heh, well maybe things worked out better this way?" suggested Danny.

"Yah," she agreed.

"You know? I'm proud of you, Valerie," stated Damon Gray, as the adults' discussion ended and they rejoined the conversation with the teens.

"Thanks, Dad," answered Valerie, taken aback.

"After everything that's happened, I think I am a little more willing to let you fight ghosts," confided Damon.

"Really?" asked Valerie hopefully. Having her dad's approval of ghost hunting would make things easier.

"Yes," confirmed her father. "But, only if you work together" (he indicated Sam and Danny) "and do your best not to get hurt."

"Deal," said Valerie. Sam and Danny nodded with her.

"Heh," chuckled Damon. "You really are growing up, aren't you?" He smiled.

Before anyone could say another word, the crowd began to press in around them. The news crews had moved from in front of FentonWorks to their location, several meters up the street. A microphone returned to Danny's personal space and cameras and lights were directed towards him and the newscaster who was trying to interview him. Sam, Valerie, and their parents were pushed out of the spotlight and into the ring of the people gathered around.

"The City of Amity Park, no, the Entire World is grateful to you," declared Shelly Makamoto, of Channel 7 News. "We can't thank you enough. You are one incredibly brave boy. Do you have anything to say?"

"Uh…" uttered Danny. He lifted his hand and began to rub the back of his neck. "Well, I… I'm just happy that I could help. When I know I'm the only one who can do something, I like to follow through, you know?"

"And how do you feel about this past week? The entire experience must have been a bit overwhelming to you."

"Heh, yah," said Danny. "It was."

"Is there any advice that you can give to the citizens of Amity Park in terms of future ghost attacks?"

Danny was thoughtful before answering. "Don't panic. Don't stay out in the open. Let the professionals handle it."

"As spoken by the hero of our city!" exclaimed Shelly. She turned to face the camera, center on. "We'll be taking a short break now. More news after this!"

The rest of the day passed Danny in a blur. A lot of people came up to him to shake his hand or pat him on the back. People were cheering for him. Everyone smiled. The city of Amity Park seemed to be in a festive mood and the partying extended late into the night. By the time Danny got away from everything, he was thoroughly exhausted. He greeted his bed with great appreciation and was out like a light moments later.

* * *

The next day, everyone began to settle back into the normal routine of things. There was still a little air of excitement as people talked about the recent events. The media was particularly happy to discuss everything that happened.

"…so brave. His daring actions are an inspiration," said Emily Marden on the set of the _Insight_ talk show. She was glowing ecstatically.

"Aren't they?" agreed Susan Benjamin, smiling easily. "He certainly surprised the world, myself included, with his real heroism. He's a gem in the rough – after all the flack that he received and he still fought wholeheartedly to save everyone!"

"People are afraid of those who are different than they," said Lauren Costanza in her usual reserved way. She glanced at Susan briefly before continuing, "But, sometimes they just need to see that the emotions are still the same to recognize that we are all human. Danny is one of us."

"Yes," Susan concurred without guilt. "And he is extremely mature for his age."

"Oh, I hope we'll get an interview with him!" exclaimed Emily. "I'd love to meet _The_ Ghost Boy in person!"

"Yes, it'd be lovely to have the dear join us," stated Anna Cox warmly. "But I wouldn't want to distract from his studies since he _is_ still in high school."

"Of course not," agreed Emily. "Though, I've heard that he's going to be receiving an award on Friday."

"Yes," confirmed Lauren. "The City of Amity Park is celebrating him as the Town Hero, and I expect there'll also be some Special Services awards."

"It won't be long till other countries around the world honour him for what he's done," commented Susan.

"Here, here!" exclaimed Emily, raising her coffee mug in a semi-humorous toast. She took a sip, then remarked, "Well, I'm still looking forward to reading his biography. Any word on which author has taken up the task?"

"Not yet," informed Susan. "But, I don't expect it to be long till we find out. We'll have a full out discussion on it once the book is out."

"We most certainly will!" declared Emily. "Well, it's time for a break. Coming up next: The secret government organization, 'The Guys in White'. Who are they and what were they doing during the ghost invasion? Plus their involvement with Danny Phantom's capture."

The said Guys in White were currently undergoing an internal investigation of sorts within the government. The Operatives themselves were particularly upset that they were undermined by the rest of the government. There was also a lot of finger pointing going on between each major department; the Guys in White, the FBI, National Defense, and the CIA due to their involvement in the recent events. Danny and his parents had been informed of this in the hopes that they wouldn't be pressing any charges. They were also being offered a nice compensation.

Jazz and Sam voted to go ahead and press charges while Maddie considered it. Jack nixed the idea and appeared with Danny on a news broadcast to publicly decline the compensation as well, effectively telling the government to 'shove it'.

By the time everything would settle again, Operatives O and K would be back at work in the newly revamped Guys in White unit (with a new set of rules for hunting and experimenting on ghosts), Dr. T would be serving a short sentence in jail for his inhuman experiments, as well as be stripped of his doctor's license and fined a small sum, Elizabeth Medley would be reprimanded by the CIA with a month-long suspension without pay and also have to pay a fine, and General Pierfort of National Defense and Bob Mullen of the FBI would be investigated but in the end get off without punishment other than a social black mark on their names (the lack of confidence in their leadership would eventually lead to turmoil later on).

Danny would also be getting a signed legal agreement that no government organization or employee will ever touch his DNA again (and he later mentions this to Dani, "It includes you since technically, you were created from my DNA."). He would also help to pass a law stating –

"… that Danny Fenton/Phantom—"

"That no halfa," corrected Danny.

"That no halfa will ever be intentionally harmed or tested on again… Wait, there's more than one of you?"

"That's for me to know!"

But all of this would be months in coming.

Currently, the famed Ghost Boy Hybrid was walking to class. He'd been out of school for a week, and his return was a far more welcome one than he'd have ever expected a week ago.

"H-hi Danny! How are you doing today?" asked Paulina almost shyly as he passed by her in the halls.

Danny smiled and waved courteously, but he didn't linger. Sam and Tucker joined him on either side as they headed to their lockers.

"Hey, Fenton!" called Dash.

Danny stiffened and turned to face him.

"Looking good!" Dash exclaimed giving him a wink and a thumbs up.

Danny waved awkwardly in his direction as his trio arrived at their first destination.

"You know," said Danny to his best friends while twirling his lock combo subconsciously. "After this past week, I didn't think I'd be taken by any more surprises, but this—"

"U-um… um," Mikey was standing on the other side of Danny's locker with a notebook and pen in hand, looking pale and twitching slightly.

"Hmm? What is it Mikey?" asked Danny.

"C-can I h-have your autograph? Y-you're like th-the hero of all heroes… ever…"

Danny blinked, taken aback, blushed briefly, then reached out for Mikey's pen and notepad. "Sure… I'd be glad to…" mumbled Danny. This was really _not_ something he was used to.

After Mikey left, Sam spoke before Danny could finish his previous train of thought.

"We know, Danny," she said. "Surprises just like that," she nodded in Mikey's direction. "Well, it's nice for a change, isn't it?"

"Yah, think of all the great parties we'll get invited to now!" exclaimed Tucker.

"Tucker," chastised Sam sternly.

"Oh and I bet you'll be let into the movies for free! Dude, you could probably even get front row seats at concerts if you asked!"

"Tucker!" said Sam in a stricter tone. "Danny's not going to abuse his fame!"

"Oh, I don't know…" said Danny playfully.

"Danny!" cried Sam hitting him lightly on his shoulder.

Danny laughed. "Ok, ok, I won't be abusing my powers!" And as an afterthought, he added, "I'll probably be just as busy as before anyways, if not busier. I'd rather spend any free time I get with you guys than trying to get freebies."

"Aw, I'm touched," said Tucker sarcastically wiping a fake tear from his eye.

"Well, I appreciate it," stated Sam warmly while locking eyes with Danny.

"I'm glad," responded Danny smiling.

The warning bell rang at that moment and everyone in the halls started to hustle off to class.

"You guys go ahead," uttered Danny. "I'm going to make a quick trip to the washroom."

"k, see you in class."

Danny was going to be on time for the first time in a while, except that once he exited the washroom, he was bombarded by a group of squeeing fangirls who'd been stalking him all morning as quietly as they could, but could now no longer hold back.

"Gack!" cried Danny as they surrounded him. "Uh, e-excuse me… I've… got… to… get… to… class!" Wading through them was proving difficult. "Oof!" Tackle-glomped.

_This is ridiculous_, thought Danny, _Lancer's gonna give me detention and it's only my first day back!_

"Don't you all have somewhere to be right now?" he asked to no avail as the final bell rang decisively.

A light dawned on him and he went intangible and invisible. The girls screamed in delight at his use of ghost powers but the trick was effective. They could no longer follow him and he flew quickly to his classroom.

Danny became solidly human again before entering. Mr. Lancer was writing on the blackboard but turned to fully face Danny as the flushed teen rushed to his seat.

"Welcome back, Mr. Fenton," greeted Mr. Lancer in a pleasant voice. "Wonderful work yesterday. I hope you're up for some learning today. Please take out _Midsummer Night's Dream_. We're going over Act V, scene i."

With that, Lancer turned his attention back to the blackboard.

_Wait, he's _NOT _giving me detention?_ Danny thought, perplexed.

Tucker gave him the "o.k." sign with his fingers and thumb, grinning. Sam rolled her eyes at that, then shrugged at Danny in a sort of "Well, it's _Lancer_" way. Danny suddenly remembered the teacher's favouritism towards the jocks of the school and realized he was now in that category… or above it.

Danny smiled slightly. Not getting detentions for coming late would _really_ be helpful when he was off fighting ghosts. That small gesture of Lancer's was something Danny appreciated very much. He didn't expect to be given breaks on his homework though – not even Dash could get away with that – and Danny wouldn't have it any other way. His tendency towards playing video games instead of doing homework was a habit he probably should break.

He expected (or hoped really, really hard) that the fangirldom would die down a bit in a few weeks. Everything else was running smoothly. His life was on a new high and he couldn't have been happier. Danny leaned back in his chair contentedly.

Admittedly, there were moments throughout this experience that Danny had considered going to see Clockwork, particularly while he was in the Ghost Zone. He wasn't sure whether the omnipresent ghost _would_ even be willing to undo the revelation of his biggest secret; with that ghost, it might be really foolish to even try. Danny had already learned his lesson about messing with the past, so he decided to stick it out this time and see if he could get it to work out.

And now it wasn't even a question anymore.

Sometimes it's better to flow with the changes than to always try to reset it to the way things used to be… he'd kept his powers, after all. His friends. His family. And he'd gained the respect of Amity Park and of the world. This was just another life-altering change that he was going through, and he was ready to see where it would take him from here…

* * *

"It's Lance Thunder on the scene as a new ghost advances on our lovely city causing mayhem and destruction," announced the flamboyant reporter eagerly. "Danny Phantom has already defended Amity Park three times this week. Oh! Would you look at that! The Ghost Boy has arrived! This ghoul stands no chance against our superhero…"

* * *

-(o)-

The End.

-(x)-

* * *

GLE – That's it! We've reached the end of this story! Wow! I can't believe it's over!

Heh, please overlook the plot-holes! Hee, I think I've covered mostly everything. I know there's some stuff that I didn't touch on…

…_**which is why I've decided to create an extra chapter of bonus material! **_

Heh, for anything that doesn't end up in there, I hope that I did well enough that you don't notice, eheh! (I am aware of what plot-holes exist and which of those I don't plan on explaining… they're pretty minor anyways).

So, yes. There is _one_ more chapter following this one.

In it, I plan to include:  
-Deleted Scenes  
-Backstories to some of my OC's (Like Dr. T's full name)  
-the Guys in White's Experimentation Schedule (that they never got to do)  
-and more!

Anyways, on the life note, I finished a fun first term a few of weeks ago, got a week off for "summer break", and have now started my second term. It's supposed to get a lot harder from here on out and I'm really looking forward to it! I'm already insanely busy, but I decided that as a birthday present to myself, I'd finish this "last" chapter. Heh, but I spent my birthday taking a break from schoolwork and having fun, so this is a day late! Consider it a belated birthday present from myself to all of you!

Well, enough about me. I hope that you've all enjoyed this story as much as I have. Please review 'cause I love to read any and all feedback that you have for me! And I'm still hoping to hit 200 reviews!

I've got a few more details to work out with the bonus chapter, so it might be a couple of weeks before it's up… and depending on schoolwork, I might have to wait until the four-day break I get between terms two and three (the last weekend of October). So, till then!


	12. Bonus Material

GLE – I'm finished term 2! (which was mostly sound editing). I start term 3 on Monday! (which is mostly recording). I'm really having fun! Anyways…

A lot of planning went into this story, and there were things that didn't quite make it into the writing (mostly stuff that didn't fit or you didn't need to know, and at least one thing that I forgot to include). I decided around the time I was writing chapter 7 or 8… or maybe a little earlier than that… that I would do an extra chapter to include some fun facts about the OC's I created for this story as well as any other details I'd like to mention. So, consider this some bonus material! And as always, enjoy!

-(o)-

Stuff you never knew you wanted to know about DSE

Table of Contents

1 – Timeline Outlined  
2 – Chapter Titles  
3 – Loose Threads  
4 – Minor OC's  
5 – OC's with Back-Story  
6 – Experimentation Schedule of the GiW  
7 – Deleted Scenes  
8 – Concept for DSE

* * *

**1. ****Timeline Outlined**

Let's start off with the timeline. Overall, the story spanned a week and two days, sort of.

The _first chapter_, with all the news crews and interviews from around the world occurred on **Tuesday**, the day after the incident that revealed Danny's identity.

_Chapters 2_, _3_, _and_ _4_, all cover **Wednesday**, with flashbacks to **Monday** and **Tuesday**. If you remember, those chapters included: Danny hanging out with Dani then leaving for the Ghost Zone, the FBI investigation at the Fenton's, Jazz moving in with Valerie, flashbacks to Val's reaction of Danny's identity and to the incident that revealed him, and at the very end of the day, Jack and Maddie receiving a phone call telling them to move out of their house.

_Chapter 5_ happened on **Thursday**, which was Sam's, Tucker's, Jazz's, and Valerie's first day back to school since Monday that week. Vlad is finally introduced into the story. Danny spends some time in the Ghost Zone, then visits Vlad, and finishes the day by traveling to Amity Park.

_Chapter 6_ occurred on **Friday**. Damon meets with Operatives O and K who rush off when Danny Phantom appears on their radars. Danny fights with the mermaid ghost, and tries to hold off the Guys in White at the same time. There are flashbacks to the FBI investigation that occurred on **Wednesday**. The day ends with an alliance forming between Jazz and Valerie, and with Vlad watching the news. Danny wakes up the next day and screams, to end the chapter on a nice little cliffie.

_Chapters 7_ _and 8_ encompass **Saturday**. We get a glimpse of the real power in charge of the experimentation on Danny, and get to meet Dr. T and see his torture push Danny to the point of unleashing a ghostly wail. Meanwhile, there's a protest going on in Amity Park that gets broken up by a massive ghost attack. Jazz leads Team Phantom plus Valerie and Dani in an elaborate plan to save her brother that fails.

_Chapter 9_ happens mostly on **Sunday**, ending with **Monday** morning. Originally, I was going to skip Sunday since nothing much was going to happen, but I moved things, like the kids interacting with their parents and Maddie's conversation with the invisible Plasmius, from the end of Saturday to Sunday, 'cause it made more sense to have the break-Danny-out-of-there plan take place at night and not in the afternoon (silly to put it then, like I initially thought). I originally also had Danny go _way_ angstier, but I felt that was a bit too OOC, so I spent some time developing his descent into anger towards the government.

_Chapters 10 and 11_ happen on **Monday**, with the second half of _Chapter 11_ on **Tuesday-ish**. Danny refuses to save the world at the request of the government. Vlad shows up and they fight while destroying the lab. The Fright Knight puts Danny into a nightmare while the world is overrun by ghosts. Danny realizes that he was heading down the path towards becoming his dark alter-ego and decides that he really does want to save the world. All the ghost hunters put in their best efforts to fight the ghosts, but it's Danny with the Fenton Bazooka and a super-powered jetpack who saves the day. The media is thrilled to announce this. We see Danny's reintegration into school-life on **Tuesday**. There are events **beyond Tuesday** that are discussed (such as what happens to the Guys in White). It ends with a news report that is presumably sometime after Tuesday (a couple weeks? A month or two?).

* * *

**2. ****Chapter Titles**

Each chapter title was supposed to have double meanings. I'm not sure that I achieved that with all the chapter titles, but for most of them, I think I succeeded. I particularly like the title "Of Being Half Ghost".

* * *

**3. ****Loose Threads**

I'm not really sure why I created this section. I guess it's here just to add a couple of things that don't belong to any of the other sections.

First of all, **917 Maple Street**:This is the exact address of Mr. Lancer's "haunted house" from the Halloween episode with Fright Knight's first appearance. Dani refers to the "creepy house on Maple Street" in _Chapter 10_. The Fright Knight must've gained an affinity for it to have repositioned himself there.

Hmm, I was planning on explaining the **White-Ceiver** and **Fly-Tell** technology, but I'm not sure that even _I_ know exactly how they work. I'm gonna say though, that the White-Ceiver only blocks attacks that are directly made on it, and does not prevent low-powered ectoplasm from being within its radius (ectoblasts are more high-powered). The White-Ceiver was the device that Damon Gray placed on his fridge to protect his apartment and everyone within it. Dani flew into the apartment with Sam, and used other ghost powers while there, like invisibility. But by that point in the story, the Guys in White were generally ignoring any warning signals of ectoplasmic presence as they focused all of their attention on the experimentation of the Ghost Boy.

The Fly-Tell is supposed to repel high-powered ectoplasm (aka ectoblasts). This did not occur in the fight between Team Phantom and the Guys in White during the rescue mission due to the fact that ectoblasts never came close enough to the one that Valerie was unknowingly carrying. Yes, she did get fired at, but she was using her hoverboard as a shield which ended up preventing the high-powered ectoplasm from reaching the Fly-Tell device.

Heh, clearly these devices ended up being fairly useless in the end. Well, the Guys in White are going to be revamping their entire program, so hopefully they'll also improve on the naming of their weapons! Oh, and speaking of, I called it "Fly-Tell" in tribute to the image of a fly-on-the-wall. Flies on the wall, like Uncle Sam looking over your shoulder, the Guys in White most definitely were trying to achieve this when they handed out the devices to parents of Casper High students.

**Ghosts, post-fic**. I did my best to sum everything up in the last chapter, but I didn't quite get the ghosts in there. I have no idea how the ghosts are taking the change with regards to the humans' acceptance of Danny. Guess they can't blackmail him with revealing his secret anymore? But will they still attack? Most certainly!

Well, that concludes this random section of arbitrary information. Onto the next!

* * *

**4. ****Minor OC's**

I loved creating new characters. And boy, did I create a lot of them! Most of them were pretty minor – so minor, in fact, that I decided not to bore you with the details (though I did make a list of them for myself). The following list is of the 'cool' minor characters (or those that had a _little_ back-story):

From _Chapter 1_ and appearing again in _Chapter 10_

-Male Australian reporter  
-Male Asian reporter  
-Female German reporter  
-Male BBC (British Broadcasting Company) reporter  
-Male CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) reporter  
-Male CNN (Cable News Network) reporter

From _Chapter 3_

-Mr. Stevens, a jogger, wearing a t-shirt and a pair of shorts (also mentioned in_ Chapters 4 and 5_ since he witnessed the incident that revealed Danny and appeared on the news in an interview to talk about it)  
-Ellen, the social worker who helps to move Jazz. Originally, I had named her Lydia, but after Reality Trip aired and a ghost was given that name, I renamed her.

From _Chapter 4_

-Gryphon ghost (I wanted a cool creature. Heh my original mental images of that battle had Danny in hand-to-hand combat at one point, but when this creature came to mind, I knew I was going with it)

From _Chapter 6_

-Mermaid ghost (mermaids are my favourite mythical creatures)

From _Chapter 7_

-Operatives S and P. I like to think of them as "Salt and Pepper".  
-Channel 7 camera guy – he flirts with the Student Cinematographer after she's become an intern to Channel 4.

* * *

**5.** **OC's with back-story**

The _Insight_ Crew

Disembodied male voice**  
Emily Marden  
Anna Cox  
Lauren Costanza  
Susan Benjamin**

I named the cast with first names first, though Cox was always going to be one of the last names, derived from some great-great-grandmother-or-something of mine (Anna was taken from a rare nickname of mine that only my grandmother calls me followed immediately by my name). I had a classmate back in high school with the last name Costanza. Marden and Benjamin just popped into my head.

Lauren is the analytic one. She doesn't talk unless she has a question or a thought she feels is worth investigating, prompting the opinions of the others.

Anna is also somewhat quiet. She is an empathetic person and likes to be fair to everyone (if possible). When discussing topics involving children or young people, she usually takes on a motherly standpoint.

Emily and Susan are by far the most talkative during the show and lead the discussions. Susan is a bit more opinionated than Emily. They often take on opposing sides of a debate, even if they believe in the same thing (one will play devil's advocate).

Gang of kids – particularly, the **leader** and the **youngest one**

These were the kids who were mocking Danny while he fought Aragon back in _Chapter 3: Inner Conflict_. They aren't that much younger than Danny, and being part of a gang structure, they felt threatened by his presence. The leader in particular was trying to make himself feel better and more powerful than Danny by putting him down and having his gang members follow his lead. The youngest one hasn't been part of the gang for very long and wasn't as good at hiding the reverence he had for the heroic Danny Phantom.

College Film Students

Student **Director** (male)  
Student **Cinematographer** (female) who gets an internship with Channel 4 News  
Student **Actor** (male)  
Student **Sound Designer** (female)

As I had said at the end of the chapter in which they appeared, this was based on a student film production that I did for one of my university courses. I was the editor, whose job it was to edit the film in post-production, but during production, to capture sound. The movie we made was a short 6 minute film about a guy locking his keys in the car and spending the rest of the day trying to break into it only to find out that the passenger-side door was unlocked. He has a little run-in with a security guard who exhausts most of the day trying to arrest him for attempting to steal the car.

My group had planned the shoot two weeks in advance, and when the day finally came, my director threw us off schedule an hour into shooting. I sat on the curb for over an hour waiting until he finally figured out the _artistic angle_ or whatever the heck he was trying to do. I felt terrible for our actors, the main two having stayed with us the entire day from 7:00am until 10:30pm. One of them didn't get into a scene until afternoon. And neither of them was paid properly by our director who had promised them a meal (he didn't want to buy them Pita Pit, which is what they wanted at the end of the day. He wanted to buy them each a piece of pizza or something cheaper).

My director hung over my shoulder the entire time I was editing and made it very hard for me to cut unnecessary things from the film. Anyways, I modeled the crazy director in this fic after him and the other film students after me and my classmates. The cinematographer in this fic was a bit different from the cinematographer in my group (the girl in my group was actually a creative writing major).

The Government Trio

CIA liason, **Elizabeth Medley** – I created her name from the swimming term "individual medley" or "medley relay", which refers to a race that has all four competitive strokes being swum in a particular order. Just think that she has a finger in every pie.

Director of the FBI, **Bob Mullen** – I parodied his name from the actual name of the Director of the FBI back when I wrote the chapter in which he first appears.

National Defense, **General Pierfort** – anyone who can speak French can clearly see that this is derived from: "Pier"… which has the same meaning as in English, now that I think about it, and "Fort" which means "Strong". I picture him as a rock, a 'strong stone'. I think I was aiming for the French word "Pierre" which means "Rock/Stone". Well, he likes vacations on the seaside? Or he has a castle on the sea?

Their main objective in the imprisonment and experimentation of Danny Fenton a.k.a. Danny Phantom was to create an American army of half-ghosts. This army would presumably be unstoppable, and then all wars would come to an end as the United States set law and order in the world. Though, perhaps their first soldiers would just do reconnaissance and spy jobs to gain information on any enemies or terrorists.

Danny figured out that this was their goal when Dr. T told him, "Science would _love_ to duplicate your mistake". He argued that "ghost powers affect everyone differently! What you're doing isn't just horrible, it's dangerous!", thinking of Vlad and Tucker, etc. Oh ya, and Elizabeth Medley does have a lot of authority within the CIA, but she isn't at the top of the organization, unlike Bob Mullen and General Pierfort.

**FBI Agent Robert Miller** and **FBI Agent Collins** work under Bob Mullen. I borrowed their names from some (former) teammates of mine (though my "Collins" teammate is actually female, not male).

Guys in White, Operative B and Dr. T

**Operative B**, from _Chapter 9_, wouldn't have a name except that Bradley keeps popping into my head, which leads me to "Sadly-I'm-Bradley" from the Canadian movie, _Waydowntown_, a hilarious drug trip of a film set in Calgary where four office workers make a bet to see who stays indoors the longest. With the downtown core connected by tunnels and overpasses, one could stay inside for a very long time without setting a foot outdoors. The main character's desk-neighbour is a sad guy by the name of Bradley. At one point in the film, the main character is on the phone with who he thinks is one of his friends, and is chatting about "Sadly-I'm-Bradley" when Bradley replies, "Sadly, I _am_ Bradley". My sister and I recommend this film. Anyways, next character…

**Dr****. ****Tobias Umbrov** (aka Dr. T) did his undergrad as a double major in psychology and biology. He wrote his master's thesis on a dissected ghost bunny (_The Skeletal and Muscular Structure of a Paranormal Rabbit_) and got his doctorate in a more traditional way. He was recruited by the Guys in White for his research on paranormal beings as well as his general interest in ghosts.

He had met Elizabeth Medley in college during his undergrad (they sat next to each other in a couple of psychology courses), but they were nothing more than acquaintances (they'd been study buddies for the courses they took together but it didn't really develop beyond that). One of Elizabeth Medley's men made contact with him shortly after Danny's identity was revealed and she reconnected with him a few days before he brought her to speak to Danny. Dr. T agreed with her way of thinking and wanted to help as best he could. Plus, a small bonus of cash couldn't hurt either.

* * *

**6. ****Experimentation Schedule of the Guys in White**

The Experimentation Schedule is the main reason that chapter 7 took me a year to update. Before even writing the chapter, I wanted to figure out, in detail, what the heck the Guys in White were planning to do to Danny. So, I had to get into their heads and plan out everything that they'd want to test him on, imagining that they'd have him for an unlimited amount of time, and not just two and a half days. This is what I came up with:

-note that for every one of these Ability Tests, they are always testing for "the biology of it", which refers to how his body is processing; how does he _do_ an ability at the molecular level, what hormones are being set off, what's his heart rate at, his brainwaves, his breathing, etc, etc.

-note also that _all_ of these Ability Tests were to be performed in his human and his ghost forms, to get readings for both

-note that these were the only abilities that the Guys in White were aware of when they created this schedule for testing (for example, they didn't consider Ghost Sense to be much of a power, and they didn't know about the Ghostly Wail until after Danny did one)

Ability Tests

_Flying_ – **fastest speed**_  
_

_Ectoblasts_ – **rate** (how fast can he fire them consecutively), **power** (how strong can he make a single blast)_  
_

_Intangibility_ – **substances** (what substances can he pass through, are there any that he can't?), **body parts** (a focus on making specific body parts intangible while leaving the rest tangible, how small can he go, can he single out any one part on impulse, can he do this under pressure)_  
_

_Invisibility_ – **body parts** (pretty much the same as for intangibility)_  
_

_Ectoshields_ – **power** (how strong can he make them), **distance** (how far can he throw a shield like as to protect someone else within it), **area** (how wide can he make one around himself and at what distance does a serious dip in integrity occur), **thickness** (slightly different from power, how thick can he make the shield, how thin can he make one that is still effective)_  
_

_Strength_ – **power hold** (how much can he hold or how much weight can he sustain), **power break** (how much power can he put into a punch or a kick or any physical attack like this, to break through metal, etc), note: this is the only test he completely fails at in human form

These ability tests need to be repeated over a long period of time to get more accurate results.

Structure Tests

Transformation  
-physical reaction of transformation  
-midmorph DNA  
-brain activity  
-bone density/muscles/structural differences?  
Test to be repeated a few times and completed within a week.

Why didn't he die?  
-analyze cell structure  
-test effect of ectoplasmic electricity on normal cells  
Danny doesn't need to be present for this test. Only his cells do, which they take samples of from him the first time he's in the Medical Center. They get the normal cells from someone else, or several someones else.

Brainwaves and vitals during sleep  
-as ghost  
-as human  
Extreme heat and cold  
-as ghost  
-as human  
These tests require a month long of research each. So do "How long without food" and "How long without sleep" (both as human and as ghost), which were planned for much later. These last two might affect his ability test results, so a slightly altered "lighter" schedule would be applied which include much less ability testing, but still enough stuff to occupy Danny all day.

X-rays, CAT scans, etc, etc, would all fall under this category as well and be tested in there somewhere.

Interview Questions

I got in all the interview questions into the fic that I wanted to ask, so I'm not doing a section on that here, but you get the basic idea; they wanted to ask him about everything he knew about ghosts or relating to ghosts.

Daily Schedule

The First Day looked something like this:  
8:00 – wake, chat with Dr. T  
8:30 – vitals/structure tests  
9:30 – ability tests run-through  
12:00 – questioned by Dr. T  
12:30 – lunch  
13:00 – ability tests  
15:20 – ghostly wail  
Sometime close to midnight – Team Phantom fails to rescue him

The rest of the days that Danny was supposed to be there were supposed to look like this:  
7:00 – breakfast (except when doing the starvation test later on down the road, same goes for other meals)  
7:30 – transformation testing (first week), other structure tests  
8:30 – ability tests  
12:00 – lunch  
12:30 – ability tests  
15:00 – nap ('cause he'd need it, except during the 'how long can he stay awake' testing period), structure tests  
16:00 – interview questions  
18:00 – dinner  
18:30 – ability tests  
21:00 – structure tests  
22:00 – sleep (except during 'how long can he stay awake' testing period)

Can you tell why Team Phantom freaked out about reading through this? I wouldn't want to imagine my friend going through anything like this. I'm happy Danny got out!

**

* * *

7. ****Deleted Scenes**

This section exists mainly due to "Deleted Scene 8". Immediately after I wrote the scene, I knew I couldn't use it (it was far too upbeat for the tense/downcast mood I was trying to convey). Since I was already planning a bonus chapter by that point, I decided to add Deleted Scenes to the menu. Most of the other deleted scenes are lines that either didn't fit into the story or conveyed characters going _way_ out of character. Or they were just funny thoughts that came about late at night when I was too tired to think properly.

Deleted Scene 1 – _Set during Chapter 6: Redemption or Ricochet, as Danny's train of thought when landing on the steps outside the school._

Danny decided it was time to face the music. He returned to school since he felt that, as a student, this was where he should be. He knew that he probably wouldn't get to stay here very long and hoped that wherever he was going to be taken to, everything would be ok. He was tired of running, in any case.

Deleted Scene 2 – _Set during Chapter 7: Breaking Point, as part of Danny's psychology during experimentation. This occurs during the first round of ability tests._

He started to become a bit jittery during the process, and twitch at the slightest sound since they kept attacking him to get him to use his powers. Sometimes they'd catch him by surprise, especially when he thought they were taking a break.

Deleted Scene 3 – _Set during Chapter 7: Breaking Point. This is one scene I forgot to add. Dash makes the argument that even if it was a school day, he'd be at City Hall to protest Danny's incarceration. The exact words were:_

"I'd be more than happy to skip school for this protest!"

_I would have loved to have made it a school day, but it was more important to have Danny's identity revealed on a school day (the previous Monday), so that Tucker and Sam were in detention._

Deleted Scene 4 – _Set during Chapter 9: Nightmare World. It's just a pretty line that was too sophisticated for Tiffany Snow, so she ended up saying it differently. Plus, I wanted to leave her unbiased about Danny._

Without Danny Phantom, the ghosts felt free to come whenever they wanted; there was no more opposition.

Deleted Scene 5 – _Set during Chapter 9: Nightmare World. Vlad's meeting with Maddie. Originally, he was going to reveal his double identity to her._

"People… change," said Vlad hesitantly. "Maddie, there's something you must know… I've been a fool to keep it from you… I've been a fool for too long…"

_Real sappy. _Really _OOC. _So_, instead of Maddie finding out about him, Valerie did. Heh, probably not the trade most of you were looking for, however, that's the way it spawned out of my head and onto my computer._

Deleted Scene 6 – _Set during Chapter 10: To Be a Hero. Vlad talking to Danny in the Medical Center, following Vlad's lines, "Whether these people realize it or not, they want you to watch over them, no matter how much you pester the rest of us, no matter how much they fear you. They worship you too!" _

"The world works in contradictions, and a lot of it is gray, not black or white," Vlad continued. "We're the gray, Danny, but most especially you are. And you deserve to find your place among the rest. You belong here more than I do…"

"Gray. WTF are you on?" asked Danny incredulously.

_Actually, I didn't have Danny say that. Those are my current thoughts. This was one of the older scenes that I wrote._

Deleted Scene 7 – _Set during Chapter 10: To Be a Hero. _

_Now it's Vlad's turn to look at Danny and say, "And you made fun of _me_ for attempting to be poetic."  
Danny: "But srsly, gray?"  
Vlad: "Just look at the OOCness of your next lines." _

_After Danny comes out of his nightmare, I had originally written this passage for his thoughts:_

"I'm not afraid of the world. I don't care what they think of me. The worst hasn't happened because the worst would be me losing myself to chaos – to a dark temptation that would obliterate everything I care about and fight for, and I am never going to let that happen. I will fight, with or without humans by my side, because that is my purpose."

…_moving on…_

Deleted Scene 8 – _Set during Chapter 10: To Be a Hero. After the international news reporters had their say._

Lance Thunder, however, was happy for the first time in his broadcasting career to be haunted by a ghost. The Box Ghost _was_ rather harmless after all. Lance was thrilled to be more irritated than anything. He clung to the belief that, as long as he was the Box Ghost's prey, no other ghost would bother with him. In this sense, he felt safe.

"Beware!" cried the Box Ghost, circling Lance's head.

"Yes, yes," replied Lance, waving his hand as if to brush him off. He was trying to read a report in preparation for the news at noon. "Ahh!" he stated in monotone, pretending to scream. "A ghost!"

Yes. Lance Thunder was happy. And so was the Box Ghost.

Deleted Scene 9 – _Set during Chapter 11: Reintegration, following Tucker's line: "Oh and I bet you'll be let into the movies for free! Dude, you could probably even get front row seats at concerts if you asked!" _

"Tucker!" exclaimed Sam. "I have my own movie theater. He'll _always_ get front row seats there!"

_You can thank Fey for that one._

Deleted Scene 10 – _Set post-fic in response to his excitement on the field during the final paragraph of the fic. What Lance Thunder gets up to in the future:_

Lance has given up on being the weatherman, demanded a salary raise for being a full-time endangered field reporter, and has developed a reputation as the number one Danny Phantom correspondent. _W00T! Go Lance!_

**

* * *

8. ****Concept for DSE**

I wanted to make this story as realistic as possible in terms of character interaction and thoughts. I tried to keep the characters in-character while allowing the event of change to take place because of the incident that revealed Danny. Writing the fight scenes was an interesting challenge to me, and I hope I did justice to them. I know I made some references to lines from the show or to things that happened in the show after the point in time when this fic was set (which was pre-Reality Trip). The only things I really changed from my original outline for this fic and the way it turned out in the end were parts when I had any character go noticeably OOC, such as Vlad confessing to Maddie his true identity.

Way back, before I started writing this fic, I was planning the order of events by character or groups of characters. The first character I planned was, of course, Danny. The second character was the group labeled "media/press". This included all the news reporters, the _Insight_ women, the college film students, etc, etc. I ended up planning 12 characters/groups (3. Jack & Maddie, 4. Jazz, 5. Sam & Tucker, 6. Val, 7. Damon, 8. Guys in White, 9. FBI/government, 10. Dani, 11. Vlad, 12. Danny's Classmates/People in the Community… the other ghosts didn't really get a group, only Fright Knight's jot notes were written under Vlad's heading).

This is significant because to me, the media was a very important character in this entire fic. You could almost say that it was a story from the media's point of view. I tried to include some form of media in every chapter. The question, "Do Superheroes Exist?", was asked by a news reporter in the first chapter and reiterated as an answer by a news reporter in the last chapter, "The Ghost Boy has arrived! This ghoul stands no chance against our superhero". There is a big conflict of opinion in the media as well as between characters throughout the story, which is particularly noted in the first _Insight_ talk show scene. And it all comes down to whether or not people want to trust Danny, to trust a half-ghost, and let a superhero exist.

* * *

-(o)-

Well, that's it for all this "bonus material" (aka _my extra notes on the fic_, the_ After-words_, or _Stuff you never knew you wanted to know about DSE_). I hope that you enjoyed reading everything (I have a feeling that a lot of you really liked this story, if the number of reviews, alerts, and faves I got on this have anything to say about it). Thank you all for taking the time to read this, and particularly THANK YOU to anyone who reviewed. I appreciate all the feedback that I got on this (and am especially thrilled to have made it to and beyond 200 reviews!). I'm glad that we took this journey together, and it's great to have made it to the end!

At present, I have no new Danny Phantom stories on the horizon. I am still planning to complete one Hey Arnold fanfic that is seven chapters/short stories long, for which I still need to write chapters/stories 3, 4, and 7, and edit the rest. Also for Hey Arnold, Fey Phantom and I wrote a fic several years ago that needs to be edited. We still find it funny and we will be posting it from our combined stories account, pen-name: Eternal Angels. With any luck, we'll do that this year! Uh, next summer!

Fey and I also have several futile ideas for other combined fics in different fandoms that we most likely will not get around to doing. But it's fun to daydream! In any case, I don't expect to have much free time from now until June 26th, 2009, and hopefully beyond that ('cause I'm loving my career path and I hope that I will get to work as soon as possible once I graduate!).

Thank you all once again for enjoying this fic. Good luck in all that you do!

Yours sincerely,

-)Golden Lunar Eclipse(-

-(o)-


End file.
